Turnabout Legacy
by TinyMinotaur
Summary: After Spirit of Justice. An attempt of murder on Phoenix Wright puts the worlds of everyone close to him upside down as them all try to discover the truth, but also it seems like it's a race against time in which the lives of everyone are on a bet placed by an unknown mastermind. Will the truth be revealed or dark times will hide it forever?
1. Magic and Turnabouts

**December 22, 5:30 pm**

 **Wright Anything Agency**

(Song I recommend to listen: watch?v=HrOQXY7Z66Y&index=67&list=PL6akIKaXBeU3jYgKd0SGcxReXvn9qK_de)

Few days were as cold but still so nice like this one, Christmas was close and everybody was in a good mood typical of the holidays that have to come. Some were already buying things for the dinner or running from store to store trying to find the perfect Christmas gift. But other people were entirely into something else, something greater magical and more fun, anyway, that's the way she describes it.

Trucy Wright was to perform a magic show at the Borscht Club, a place that brings back so many memories from when times were harder, when she was just her and her new father against the world. Now she smiled just thinking about the present, now her father had risen from the ashes like an authentic phoenix and was back at the courtrooms even more determined now that he had two young lawyers under his wing; Apollo and Athena. Even if Apollo was now at Kura'in he still sent a lot of letters and it felt like he was right by your side doing his Chords of Steel exercises, there wasn't even time to get sad or miss him with all the things that happened every day.

" It's almost time Daddy! I can't wait!"

Phoenix Wright looked at his daughter and smiled, her enthusiasm contagious.

" Yeah! You have been practicing a lot, this sure will be one of the best shows ever Trucy!" that was Athena, she seemed more hyped than Trucy, as if that was even possible.

" When I finish my show surely there will be time for playing poker Daddy, you haven't played in ages!"

Phoenix just laughed.

" Can't leave them to take my title away" He answered pulling a smuggy smile and placing his hands by his hips, making the girls laugh. -Anyway, it's time, be sure to not forget anything.

" Sure thing!" said Trucy.

They took a taxi and arrived at the bar. It was slightly cooler than the outside, but was crowded with people, Trucy's magic sure attracted a large audience. Phoenix looked at a corner hoping to find a familiar shape and wasn't disappointed, his eyes met with the elegant form of a piano, now covered in dust, waiting in silence for somebody to "play" it.

"Not tonight, my friend..." He thought.

Suddenly he was awoken from his internal thoughts by the Steel Samurai ringtone from his cellphone, he answered quickly while Trucy and Athena looked at him.

" This is Wright. Oh, hi Edgeworth." Phoenix's smile returned as he asked him how long it would take to him to join them, but Edgeworth spoke quickly and in a couple of words made Phoenix's brow furrow in worry, he looked so anxious and preoccupied now. He hung up the phone and faced Trucy.

" Truce, I have to take care of something. Please stay here until I came back, okay?"

" What's wrong Daddy?. You look pale..."

" Nothing important, I'm going to Edgeworth's office to help him with a case. We will return in less than 15 minutes. I promise."

He kissed her head and rushed to the door.

"Is Mr. Wright fine?" Asked Athena.

"Yeah, he does that all the time. But he will be back, you' willl see!"

Athena had heard Wright's heart and he surely wasn't lying, but a lot of complex emotions were present, what had Edgeworth told him?

The show started and ended in what looked like a couple of minutes, Athena had watched Edgeworth arrive and that made her feel better, surely Mr. Wright was close. It wasn't until the very end of the show that she met with Edgeworth...all alone.

" Where is Mr. Wright?" Asked Athena.

" I though he was here, he didn't show up at my office but sent me a message to join him here instead. But I can't see him anywhere."

" That's odd, he promised Trucy he would come back..."

" Uncle Miles! How are you?" yelled Trucy, hugging the stoic man with care, Edgeworth gaive her a few pats on her back.

" I'm fine. Great show, Trucy..."

" Thank you! Have you seen my dad?"

" No. But I'm looking for him."

" Really? Where did that old man hide, huh?"

Trucy searched for him with her eyes, but there was no sign of his pointy hair or signature blue suit.

"We should come back to your office, Mr. Edgeworth, maybe he arrived late and he's still in there."

"It's a possibility. Come with me."

Edgeworth guided the young girls to his car and drove back to his office. It was starting to freeze and Trucy was only wearing her Magician clothes, at a red light, Miles pulled off his own jacket and handed it to Trucy.

" Thank you, Uncle Miles."

" What did your father tell you?"

" That he was going to help you with one of your cases and that he would be back in less than 15 minutes.…"

" It's that so...?"

" Why? What did you tell him?"

" Some news from the police, one of his former clients was murdered."

" What? Who?"

" You didn't know him; he was a client from more than 10 years ago. If you want, I can tell you everything once we arrive at the office."

And so they did. The girls took the elevator but Miles chose the stairs, it should take him extra time to arrive so he trusted his key to Athena. The building was already dark, there were a pair of lamps that filled the corridor with light, it was a nice and warm place.

When they found Edgeworth's office Athena got close to open the door, only to find that it was unlocked, a closer look revealed that it was not just unlocked, but that the doorknob was totally busted and rendered useless. The sound of someone sobbing alerted Athena's senses enough to chill her to the bone. Trucy turned pale when she noticed something else, even more terrifying...

It smelled like blood.


	2. Turnabout Phoenix

(Song I recommend to listen: watch?v=r_kEKW_lL5k&list=PL6akIKaXBeU3hPzULIPfnFptaAsnEdNMN&index=45)

Athena entered the room first, it was pitch black and she couldn't see a thing., Trucy reached for the light switch and as the light flooded the room it was evident that something had happened in there; There was all sorts of things scattered on the floor, but both of the ladies' sight was pointed at something that clearly was off; Edgeworth's chessboard was covered in blood and there was what looked like a bullet tucked in the shelf of case's organizers.

Looking at the floor made their hearts almost stop.

Phoenix Wright was there, lying on his back, a red stain was expanding trough his suit and then leaving a pool under him. Looking closely, a nasty wound could be seen in his head but wasn't nearly as bad as the hole in his stomach, his front suit was already dyed red and even blood was coming out from his mouth, his eyes were closed and his breathing seemed nonexistent. Maya was holding his upper body, crying and shaking him carefully.

" No, Nick...please...open your eyes..."

" Nghh... "he moaned, unable to wake up at all "Mia?...is-is that you?...?"

" I'm Maya, Nick...I'm here, please hold on, just keep breathing..."

Trucy and Athena rushed to his side, startling Maya a little.

His eyes cracked open at the mention of his name...

" Daddy!" cried Trucy.

No, not his name, but the way the person he most cares about uses to call him.

" Mr. Wright!" Athena shouted.

" Please, call an ambulance...we don't have our phones.." murmured Maya, her voice broken.

" O-of course"- Athena tried to compose herself enough to being of any help while pulling out her phone. "- Who did this to you, Mr. Wright?"

He couldn't think or talk, it's was cold and the only thing that kept moving in his body was his chest, up and down in ragged breathes. It was hurting like heck just moments ago but now he was barely feeling anything. He thought he would pass out again. But the sudden touch of Trucy's hand to his cheek jolted him awake, her figure was the only thing that was clear in his foggy eyes, he coudn't think of anybody else, not the person who shot him, not the person he was supposed to meet that afternoon. Just her, his daughter.

" Trucy..." he murmured and tried to lift his hand to reach hers, but his body simply didn't respond. That simple word was enough for finally drag tears out of Trucy, she stroked his hair with care and looked at him in the eyes.

" Don't worry Daddy, you will be fine, you always are. Just hold on while the ambulance comes...please."

Something in her voice soothed him, he smiled briefly.

Athena ended the call with the emergency services and now was at his side too, she didn't say anything, but him smiling at a time like this was almost scary. '"The worst of times are when lawyers force their biggest smiles."' Athena remembered Mr. Wright saying that phrase almost like a mantra, was it really so strong in him?

His vision was fading, the image of his dear daughter banishing like mist.

" Don't close your eyes, please Daddy, think like Apollo, you know, that phrase he used to scream all the time: "I'm fine, I'm fine". Think hard about it and you will hold just a little longer..."

Scream…. Fine….. Apollo.

Apollo.

His mind only focused in that name and his daughter, not anything else. He took all of his forces together to say at least that, of all the things he wanted to say only one reached the light:

"Apollo...find…him…"

No, he couldn't leave them with nothing, he fought to defy his body and reached for his inner chest pocket, he held strongly the tiny green object in it and handed it to Athena. She received it and held his hand, before he could say anything his forces failed him, then his eyes closed again, but this time, his chest stopped moving.

Right at that moment Edgeworth entered the office, just the smell made him run and when he saw Phoenix's still body he genuinely panicked, he just couldn't move, almost couldn't breathe. But…, Why?...?

He had seen a lot of crime scenes in his life, he had seen a lot of people dying... why did seeing his best friend wounded leave him cold and useless?

" Daddy! No! Please! " Trucy's scream bringing him back to reality. He kneeled to Phoenix's side and checked his pulse, it was so weak that it made his hands tremble, but he was still in there.

" Stay calm Trucy, he's still with us, help me to lay him down " Trucy did what she was told and laid his father's body carefully to the floor, as Edgeworth untied Phoenix's necktie his elbow sensed something unusual near his chest so he checked by moving the suit jacket and discovered a knife, plunged deeply just under his ribs. He wasn't bleeding from it as much as from the gunshot wound thanks to the knife acting like a plug, but it was in a bad place and it scared Edgeworth.

"Oh god, who did this to you Wright?"

He quickly asked Trucy for her cape and used it to try and stop the blood.

" A knife...then a gunshot...they wanted to kill him... but why?"

Athena held Trucy in her arms, crying.

" Don't you dare, Wright..."

Edgeworth may never admit it, but in that moment the panic took control of him, he couldn't contain his thoughts anymore.

" D-don't you dare to die on me, Wright... " He desperately wanted to check his pulse again, but he couldn't afford to stop pressing " hear me out you fool, I wouldn't be surprised if you could bluff your way out of this one...but even that's good enough for me, just...just...try it...hold on..."

He tried looking at anything but the bloodied blue suit, it was then when he looked at Maya. There was a look in her eyes that he hasn't seen before, not when she was looking at him anyway, but now it was clear and seemed to drill right into his soul. It was a look of pure fear...

The paramedics arrived and quickly put Phoenix on a stretcher, taking him away and leaving Edgeworth behind with his hands bloodied and having a panic attack. At the scene also arrived police officers and two familiar figures, one of them a young detective girl who looked right at Edgeworth and put her hand at his shoulder as a way to calm him, the other one a man dressed in black who reached to Athena, his sharp eyes scanning everything like a hawk. Ema tried to talk with Edgeworth but he was having trouble to compose himself, it was then when a serene officer approached Edgeworth and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

" Miles Edgeworth. You're under arrest for the murder attempt of Phoenix Wright."

He barely reacted as the officer restrained him and walked him out of the room. Trucy and Athena tried to stop the officer but Edgeworth yelled.

" Blackquill stop them, don't make things harder."

" B-but Mr. Edgeworth! "answered Athena.

" Please compose yourself Ms. Cykes, I'm trusting my defense to you. You take care of them Blackquill, don't let them out of your guard even for a second, please."

Blackquill nodded and held Trucy, Maya and Athena carefully, watching as they take Miles away...


	3. Turnabout Leads

The investigation started as soon as the paramedics took Wright, since the incident was in the Prosecutors' Office, it allowed the police to act quickly.

The police questioned the girls, Athena and Trucy had nothing to say but Maya was a different story, she clearly had seen something but she didn't want to speak. The only thing she said was that she will testify if she could talk with Edgeworth before she did.

" There's no problem for me Ms. Fey, but I'm not the prosecutor for this case."

" What?! Then why are you here Simon? " asked Athena

" I heard the commotion and came here, but now the Chief give the order to protect you."

" Then who is the prosecutor? "

" Winston Payne. "

" Who is he? "

" I don't know either but that's what the police said. I heard that he has years of wanting to be the Chief Prosecutor, this must be his chance."

" Why did they arrest Mr. Edgeworth?"

" They checked the cameras and he was the only one who entered these offices beside Wright-dono. The investigation just began so they don't have decisive evidence yet."

There was silence, only broken by a soft sob from Trucy. That seemed so wrong, Trucy almost never cried, even as a child. Blackquill kneeled to her height.

" I know that the only thing you want right now is being with your dad, but right now the better is to stay with me, I promise that we will go to the hospital as soon as we finish the investigation. "

Trucy nodded.

" Mr. Blackquill...you think my daddy will be okay?"

" Wright-dono is pretty lucky, plus I bet he didn't dare to think of leaving you alone."

" He promised to not disappear..."

" He will be fine, you will see Trucy. " added Athena after hearing the sorrow from Trucy's heart, but honestly seeing all that blood made Athena shiver in fear.

Ema then approached them, first reaching to Trucy and handing her a bag of Snackoos.

" Here, they can make you feel better. "

Ema smiling was a rather rare sight, but a very welcomed one. Then she handed a pair of papers to Athena.

" Some preliminary analysis, Mr. Wright was shot right here, in front of the chessboard, the bullet was found but it is smashed pretty bad and it's unidentifiable . There's a second bullet hole in the door frame but we haven't found the bullet yet, the things on the floor indicates that there was a struggle between Mr. Wright and his attacker. We haven't found the weapon either."

" When's the estimated time of the incident?" Asked Athena

" 8:00 to 8:10 , the security camera captured Mr. Edgeworth entering the office at 8:00 pm, then you entered at 8:10 pm and discovered Mr. Wright." Stated Ema.

" That fact itself is a contradiction, Mr. Edgeworth was with us at that moment."

" Yes. The prosecutor says that there should be a trick in this somewhere. Plus, the door was forced for some reason."

" If Mr. Edgeworth was the one who entered then why ruin his own office?"

" There's more to this case than meets the eye. " said Blackquill, crossing his arms at chest level. " There are two shots at completely opposite places but no weapon, a forced doorknob and a person who wasn't supposed to be here. What's more, there's a question that still bothers me, what were you doing here, Ms. Fey?"

" Nick sent me a message, he said he wanted me to arrive here instead of the club."

" At what time?"

" 7:30 pm "

" Right after he left us at the club" added Trucy.

" Ms. Fey, please, I need to know what you saw."

Maya lowed her head, then looked everywhere and finally let out a long sigh.

" I will tell you, but not here."

They looked at each other and then at Ema.

" It's all right, leave this office to me. You guys should be at the hospital; I will send you all the paperwork later."

Simon nodded and escorted the girls to the elevator. When the doors closed, Maya started trembling.

" I... I saw...I saw Mr. Edgeworth shoot Nick..."

(Song I recommend to listen: watch?v=6HZwBnMyenA&list=PL6akIKaXBeU3hPzULIPfnFptaAsnEdNMN&index=37 )

Hours and hours passed between questions and answers, the same ones over and over again until the police were satisfied. It was already midnight when they finally allowed him to rest in his provisional cell at the Detention Center.

The cell wasn't uncomfortable at all, there wasn't any light but the moonlight invaded everything thanks to a small window in the wall. Edgeworth sat on the edge of his bed and let out a long sigh, then looked at his hands still stained with blood, Phoenix's blood.

He remembered it so clearly, the red liquid stealing away his friend's life as it seemed so determined in leaving his body, he froze a moment at the sight of it.

Right in the moment he didn't know why he couldn't move or speak, just feel his heart beating in fear and his hands trembling. Now it was clear after all; it reminded him so bad of that incident.

The accursed DL-6 incident.

He thought it was a wound that had already closed, but the scar was still in there, deep into his soul. Seeing Phoenix wounded just brought him back to the memory of his father's death, the scar opened on its own and froze him in place.

He now tried to push aside all of these feelings not just on his behalf, but Wright's as well. He would pray the entire night if that saved Phoenix, but that's not the way he does things, he would find the culprit and take it to the courtrooms if it was the last thing he did.

" Please Wright..." murmured, closing his hands into fists "don't leave us yet...


	4. Turnabout Testimony

" You saw whaaat?!" screamed Athena.

The elevator stopped and left them at the last level, Blackquill guided them directly to his car, where he was sure they were safe thanks to the security embedded into the parking lot, only prosecutors can access that place.

" Try to not talk or scream anywhere, anybody can hear us."

" I'm sorry, I just couldn't hold it any longer..." Maya was now crying, Trucy hugged her but to no avail. Athena looked at Simon and he gave her a pen and a notebook.

" Listen, I need you to tell us exactly what you saw, everything you can remember."

She wiped away her tears.

" I arrived at the office a bit late, it was around 8:05 pm, I had just opened the door and saw Edgeworth holding a gun and pointing at Nick. Nick had a hand covering his middle and blood was dripping, he was scared but he looked at me and screamed my name, I reacted just in time and only heard the first gunshot but I didn't see where it hit, then I ran to the elevator and heard a second gunshot. I returned as quickly as I could but when I found him, Nick was already wounded and Edgeworth had disappeared. "

" Did you see Mr. Edgeworth clearly? His face?. "

" No, only his back. But it looked so like him, with his pinkish suit, cravat and grey hair. "

" Full suit? "

" Uh...yeah."

" Where are you going with that question, Simon? " asked Athena while touching her earring in doubt.

" That's impossible. " said Trucy, and everybody looked at her, she squeezed the jacket wrapped around her shoulders. " Even if Uncle Edgeworth arrived before us and shot my daddy, he wasn't wearing his jacket, so Maya couldn't have seen him in full suit."

" Yes, I figured that jacket was Edgeworth-dono's when I saw you, but I wasn't sure."

" So, we have someone trying to pin this on Mr. Edgeworth. " concluded Athena.

" That's the obvious part, but we need to know why. What's more, Ms. Maya, I need you to rectify something for me."

Blackquill marked a specific part of the testimony written on the notebook.

" Are you sure that Wright-dono was bleeding when you saw him?"

" Yes, from his side..."

" He was already wounded? But she heard the shot after she ran away, and the bullet hit Mr. Wright in the stomach. " As Athena talked, Blackquill wrote everything down in the little notebook. Trucy was being strong hearing everything, but the warm hug by Maya made her feel that she wasn't alone.

Blackquill finished writing and handed over his notebook to Athena.

" It's time to go to the hospital."

Nobody objected, in fact, nobody said anything for the entire ride there. The night was cold, moonless, it felt like the world itself was cloaked in worry and fear, a feeling of danger present all the time, almost tangible.

They arrived and entered to the hospital, Blackquill asked the receptionist and her expression instantly changed.

" I will call the doctor in charge, please wait a minute."

A bad feeling fixed its roots in the minds of all of them, leaving them no option but to wait. After what felt like an eternity, a middle aged doctor called to them, his appearance calm and collected. He introduced himself and then put his hands in the pockets of his gown.

" He's still alive, we almost lost him in the ambulance but somehow he made it through. " the girls let out a breath they didn't know they were holding until then, but Simon only let his shoulders go down in relief. Unfortunately, the doctor looked at the floor, none of them needed a bracelet like Apollo's to know that the doctor had more to say. " What I'm going to tell you isn't easy, but please pay attention. He is severely injured and lost a lot of blood, that and the damage to his head put him in a coma, sadly we can't do more. There's not much hope for him to recover, we give him a couple of days but he may not survive...I'm sorry..."

Simon was about to draw his sword and slice the doctor when he saw Trucy's legs giving up and caught her.

" Nick...will die? " Maya covered her mouth, tears instantly filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

" Can... can we see him? " mumbled Trucy, still in Simon's arms.

" I can let you pass but not for very long, visiting hours are over."

" I need a full report of his injuries, please doctor. " requested Simon. They followed the doctor to Phoenix's room on the second floor, where they entered in silence.

The lights were on so it was easy to see the bed where Phoenix was, what wasn't easy was to actually look at him. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully, but the various machines attached to him and the air mask covering his face made him look so weak, so hurt.

The only bandages visible were on his head, and his right arm that was in a cast. His middle was most likely totally wrapped but was covered by a blue blanket. His breathing was slow and his heart beats were being monitored by a tiny beeping noise.

" Oh Daddy..." Trucy reached to him and held his hand, holding back her tears. Maya was just behind her, looking at the pale face of her dear old friend.

The doctor gave Simon a pair of documents and then left the room. Simon made signals for Athena to meet him outside, once there they read the papers.

" The bullet went clean trough his stomach, shot at point blank, he was hit on the left side of his head with a hard, plain and large object, his right wrist is broken and some bruises are thought to be defensive injuries, last but not least, he was stabbed with a knife at his right side. " summarized Simon from the too technical paper.

" Poor Mr. Wright, no wonder he is in this shape."

" They tried so hard to kill him, one would think that they have a grudge against Wright-dono or else this is just overkill." Grumbled Simon

" I don't know anyone who hates Mr. Wright, he's such a good person..."

" You have been here for a couple of years, lots of things have happened in the past."

" You know someone who fits the profile?. " Asked Athena.

" I don't, but maybe the Chief knows, he had known Wright-dono even from before you were born."

" But visiting hours are over, plus, we have yet to check if Ema has some news for us."

" I can pull a few strings for us to meet the Chief, I will make a few calls and tell Ema to meet us there. In the meantime, you go ask about Wright-dono's things, we should be able to get a clue or two from these."

" Roger that, I will be back."

" Wait a minute. " Simon put his fingers on his mouth and whistled, not even a minute passed before Taka appeared.

" How the heck did he hear you?"

" Never underestimate Taka. He will join you."

" I'm just going to the first floor…"

" One can never be too careful." the bird flew to Athena's shoulder and stayed in there, just like if it could read Simon's mind. " Now go.

Athena sighed in resignation and went downstairs, having tons of weird looks by the personal of the hospital. She asked about Wright's belongings and they gave them to her after she signed some papers. She jotted down the things that were now in her hands; A small notebook, his wallet and a watch, that along with the little green candy-like thing was everything she received from his boss that night. They said that the knife that was in his body was sent to the police.

As she returned to Simon she crossed paths with a strange doctor, short of height, ugly and pretty messy looking. If it wasn't for his medical gown and ID card, she wouldn't believe he was a real doctor.

" Hey, you're a pretty one, where are you going so late? " he said, the way he scratched his head and smiled gave him an almost bizarre touch.

" I'm a visitor, I came to see Phoenix Wright."

" Oh, so you are friends with the lawyer. Yeah yeah, saw him a couple of hours ago, pretty bad shape he is in, isn't it?"

" I would prefer to not to talk much about it..."

" Oh, alright. But hey, I've heard a bunch of little things around that man, pretty curious things if you ask me..." he cupped his hand around his mouth as he spoke, toying with his stethoscope in his other hand.

" Curious...things?"

" Yeah, but if you want to hear it you have to give me something in exchange..."

Then Taka spread his wings and screeched, scaring the messy doctor.

" How about I don't let Taka eat you in exchange."

" Eeeeek! Okay okay, it isn't very important anyway. " he composed himself "You're not the first visitors of Phoenix Wright, someone visited him first, a woman to be precise, a very beautiful one."

" A woman? What did she look like?"

" Here here, she was so beautiful I had to take her a picture. You can have it. " The photo showed a woman dressed in white clothes and with light brown hair, she was entering Phoenix's room with worry written all over her face. " She entered and then almost immediately left, she didn't even stay five minutes. Maybe his lover?"

" Absolutely not, but thanks for the information anyways."

Saying that, Athena left the weird man behind and returned. Simon was now inside the room, hugging Trucy, which was a rather rare sight, but one Athena was accustomed to, Simon was more than he let on.

" What's wrong? " asked Athena. ('Everything…' she said to herself.)

" I don't want Daddy to die...it's not fair..."

The amounts of pain audible from the hearts of those present was overwhelming, but Athena knew that she could not afford to join them, she had to be strong this time, for all of them.

" No one here wants that Trucy, but you know, I once read that a person in coma can feel their surroundings and somehow respond, maybe he can't hear or see us, but he can sense that we are here. Don't be sad for him now, he's strong ,and I know he doesn't want to leave you alone. Don't let him feel that you're sad, keep smiling and tell him you want him back. That could be the best thing for him."

Trucy dried her tears, looked at Athena in the eye and smiled.

" I suppose you are right..."

" Plus, he's just so stubborn to just die." commented Simon.

Trucy laughed, Maya then joined her.

" That's Nick for you..." said with a smile.

" What's next Athena, you will defend Uncle Miles?"

" Yes. The least I can do for Mr. Wright is search the truth for him. I'm in debt to him, he has done so much for me and for that I promise justice will be served! " Athena's cheerful mood was contagious, as they sealed the promise with a group hug, her own heart eased and was now was beating with force.

They were all together in this...


	5. Turnabout Edges

(Song I recommend to listen: watch?v=MUhl1PwJX84&list=PL6akIKaXBeU0IQmTBSC01rGF9Ak0zmG0Q&index=12)

Trucy and Maya stayed with Phoenix, this time Simon left Taka with them and accompanied Athena to the Detention Center.

" I understand that we're all scared, but aren't you being a little overprotective?"

" No. As I said, there's more to this case than meets the eye. Some of Wright-dono's former clients have disappeared, one of them was found dead a couple of hours ago. All of his relatives are in danger until we find the culprit."

" Oh god, you think the killer is the same one who shot Boss?"

" It's possible, it's too much of a coincidence. That's why we need to watch our backs."

" Before we go, a creepy doctor told me that someone visited Mr. Wright before us. " she showed the photo to Simon and he couldn't stop looking at it with doubt.

" I haven't seen her before. But if she had planned to do anything she could have done it already, it's suspicious but not threatening at the moment. I will send someone to watch for Mr. Wright, Trucy, and Maya."

After that they went to the Detention Center. Even if it was almost midnight being a prosecutor had its perks, they have already made the preparations and soon they were facing Edgeworth. Ema was also present.

" How's Wright? " asked Edgeworth, looking at his hands.

" He's in a coma, the doctor said that he has low chances to recover, if he doesn't wake up in three days he will die..." answered Athena, trying so hard not to cry.

" A... coma..." murmured Edgeworth pulling up his glasses, his hands started trembling. " If only I had stayed at my office..."

" Don't blame yourself Mr. Edgeworth, none of us could have seen this coming."

" No. I did know. I knew that something bad was happening and couldn't stop it..."

" You're not supposed to be a hero, Chief, you're just human. " commented Simon while crossing his arms.

" Listen Mr. Edgeworth, right now the best we can do is to find the culprit and make sure that justice is done. That's what he had wanted." Said Athena.

Edgeworth crossed his arms and looked at them.

" What have you found?"

" Maya said she saw you shoot Mr. Wright, also the camera at the corridor only captured you before Maya and the rest of us got there. The gun hasn't been found, but we know that two bullets were fired."

" Wright had a knife sticking out of his side." Added Edgeworth.

" We dusted it for prints and found only yours, Mr. Edgeworth. And we also examined his suit; he was shot at point blank, the bullet entered by his stomach and exited trough his back, the knife ripped his vest and shirt but his jacket was intact. " informed Ema.

" It must be my knife, but it doesn't make sense, I lost it last week. I believed I had forgotten it somewhere."

" Then we have to figure out how that knife found its way to Mr. Wright" Athena made some notes in Blackquill's notebook" From the extent of his injuries we can say that the culprit may have a grudge against Mr. Wright, do you have anyone in mind, Mr. Edgeworth?

" It occurs to me very few people, the ones that could want vengeance on Wright are all in prison...oh, wait..."

" What's wrong?"

" A few hours ago there was a riot at the prison, a very bad one, there was a lot of wounded prisoners but after counting them at least 5 had disappeared and one was found dead, he was one of Wright's former clients and the only one he had pronounced guilty; Matt Engarde."

" So the culprit could be one of these five free prisoners, that's why you called Mr. Wright, he seemed very concerned."

" Yes, I suspected somehow he would be in danger and that's why I called him to my office, he never showed up but sent me a message to meet him in the club."

" A message? Ms. Fey said the same thing but she was asked to go to the office."

" Do you have Wright"dono's phone among his belongings, Athena? " asked Simon. Athena checked and discovered that it was missing, but then saw the little notebook, the watch and the photo.

" No, it's missing, his assailant must have taken it away. They gave me his wallet, this notebook and his wristwatch but I haven't examined them at all."

" Let's see, his wallet only has a couple bucks and some photos, so it isn't really relevant to the case, and we can discard theft. The wristwatch is broken, it stopped at 7:00 pm, a whole hour before Ms. Fey's testimony..." noticed Simon, working under Edgeworth's cold stare at the evidence displayed in front of him.

" What? He could have broken it before by accident, we can't fully assume this hour is important or not."

" That's possible, but we also read in his medical report that his right wrist is indeed broken. His assailant could have hurt him to prevent him leaving written clues or something."

" But that's odd, usually you wear a watch in the non dominant hand. " pointed out Edgeworth.

" Wait...yeah, USUALLY. " Athena's eyes widened in realization.

" Explain yourself. " ordered Simon.

" I really haven't pay attention to that, but maybe Mr. Wright is left handed."

" That explains why he wore his watch in the right hand. " cleared Edgeworth.

" But his assailant didn't know either and broke the wrong wrist. If that's the case, Mr. Wright could have left us some written clues!"

They examined the notebook and found out that it was more like an agenda, the page of the day only had one entry: 9:00 pm Meet her in the office. After that it seemed like some pages were ripped.

" I suppose he was referring to Maya."

" That's too late in the day, Ms. Fey was supposed to join us at the magic show prior to then. This has to be another person. " as Edgeworth said this he crossed his arms. Despite the fact that this was a very common action for Edgeworth, he always did it whenever he was thinking or assuming a defensive position, Athena didn't need a bracelet like Apollo's to know that. But then she was surprised by the sound of chains and the sudden appearance of a red lock right in front of Edgeworth.

" What the heck is that?!"

" What? " asked Simon while looking at the entire room.

" The chains and the red lock!"

" I don't see anything like that..."

" Don't tell me that you see psycho-locks..." interfered Edgeworth.

" Psycho-locks?"

" You have Wright's Magatama isn't it? The little green stone."

Athena looked into her bag and found the small gem, now it was emitting a soft light, she took it and presented it to Edgeworth.

" This thing makes you see the secrets of a person's heart in the form of locks. Then you can unlock them with evidence."

" I thought you were a skeptic about those kind of things."

" I am, but Wright lent it to me once and I saw it working."

" That means that you have a secret about who he was supposed to met, this woman, isn't it? Why don't you just tell us?"

" It's not related to this case, also I promised Wright I would never talk about her."

" Mr. Wright make you promise that?"

" Unless you can prove to me that it's related, I won't say a word."

Athena, Simon and Ema exchanged looks, then Athena remembered her encounter with the hospital freak and the strange photo he gave to her, the possibility was there and she couldn't let that slip.

She presented the photo to Mr. Edgeworth.

" The woman Mr. Wright was waiting for, is it the same one who appears in this photo?"

Edgeworth's brow seemed less furrowed, he surely was surprised.

" Where do you get that photo?"

" Somebody in the hospital saw her and took it. She visited Mr. Wright before us."

" What? So she knows about this..."

" She is related to all of this, please Mr. Edgeworth, we need to know everything we can..."

Edgeworth looked at the photo, closed his eyes and sighed.

" She's Thalassa Gramarye, she was to meet Wright tonight at the end of the magic show. But I highly doubt she did something to him, she's Trucy's biological mother."

" Whaaat? I had no idea!"

" You have to keep it a secret, it's also important to Mr. Justice. Please, look for her if you can."

" To Apollo, why?"

" Wright didn't tell me much, but he probably knows her."

" Mr. Wright told us to find Apollo before passing out, maybe he was referring to that."

" Let's summarize what we know..." said Simon, taking his notebook and being ready to write.

\- Maya saw a phony Edgeworth shoot at Mr. Wright at 8:05 pm. He was already wounded, and stabbed with a knife that was missing and has Mr. Edgeworth's fingerprints. They shot him at point blank, with the bullet being unidentifiable and the gun missing.

\- Mr. Wright's wrist was broken at 7:00 pm, he may have had a fight with his assailant before the shot.

\- They forced their way into Mr. Edgeworth's office but the camera only captured Edgeworth.

\- Mr. Wright's phone is lost and was used to send a message to Ms. Fey and Mr. Edgeworth

\- The culprit could be one of the missing prisoners.

\- Thalassa Gramarye may know something.

" Man, tomorrow's trial will be a nightmare..." moaned Athena.

" We know Mr. Edgeworth is innocent, that means that you can win this Athena. I will keep an eye on the investigation and inform you of everything I know. We are in this together, for Mr. Wright..." said Ema with a sad smile and her closed fist raised.

Athena and Simon both nodded and said goodbye to Edgeworth.

" Ema, I'd like to ask you for a favor. " murmured Edgeworth before leaving and the guard handed a letter to her. " Please deliver this to the Police Department."

" Yes Mr. Edgeworth, anything for you." Ema called to Athena. "Hey Athena, wait a minute."

She pulled a little evidence bag out of her purse and handed it to Athena.

" It's part of the evidence but we checked it out already. I think it is better if you keep it...

Athena looked at what was inside the bag and felt her heart skipping a beat, it contained Wright's attorney's badge . It felt like his very heart and soul was embedded into it, dull from all the time that it had accompanied its owner...

Athena closed her fingers around it and swore, with all her heart, that she would make sure that the truth would reach the light...


	6. Turnabout Evidence

**Court Record:**

 **Attorney's Badge:**

It´s still shiny, proof that I'm a defense attorney.

 **Magatama:**

Mr. Wright gave it to me. It lets you see the secrets of a person's heart.

 **Bullet #1:**

Found at Edgeworth's office, unidentified.

 **Edgeworth's jacket:**

He gave it to Trucy on his way to the office.

 **Wright´s Medical Report:**

The bullet went clean trough his stomach, shot at point blank, he was hit at the left side of his head with a hard, plain and large object, his right wrist is broken and has some bruises that are thought to be defensive injuries, last but not least he was stabbed with a knife on his right side.

 **Wright's notebook.**

Seems like it´s his agenda. He was going to meet Ms. Thalassa Gramarye.

 **Wright's wallet.**

He has just a few bucks, but it has a photo of Trucy on it.

 **Wright´s watch.**

It´s broken, stopped at 7:00 pm.

 **Photo of the first visitor.**

Obtained at the hospital, it shows woman dressed in white clothes and with light brown hair entering Wright's room.

 **Knife**

It is Edgeworth´s, has his fingerprints. Used to stab Mr. Wright.

 **Wright's suit.**

Very blue. Has a lot of blood on it, I can´t stand seeing it for long. Shows that he was shot at point blank.

 **Attorney's Badge:**

Mr. Wright´s…years of experience are stored here, I feel like his heart as well.

 **December 23, 10:00 am**

 **Defendant Lobby no. 3**

Not one of the presenters could say that they slept well last night.

Silence was all over the lobby, but no one wanted to make any comments.

" I know it's hard, but let's put on a brave face. Mr. Wright need us, we won't fail him!" screamed Athena, scaring both Trucy and Maya.

" I trust you to find the truth, Athena, Daddy counts on you!" Trucy composed herself, her smile truly relieved Athena and made her hug the young lady.

Edgeworth arrived, he clearly hadn't had any sleep either, but his clothes were clean and his hair combed with his characteristic style. He approached to Maya.

" Ms. Fey, how are you?"

" Fine, I guess..."

" Don't worry, just tell exactly what you saw."

" But, Mr. Edgeworth..."

" Don't doubt your own eyes, if you tell the absolute truth we will find the right path, I promise. " Maya couldn't hold it any longer and hugged Edgeworth, who wasn't surprised and responded to her by drawing small circles at her back carefully. " How is Wright?"

" He isn't better but he isn't worse either. He's barely alive right now..." Answered Maya.

" I know he will wake up, just give him a little time, you will see."

Everybody composed themselves and wished Athena the best of luck. Simon was to accompany her in the Defense Bench, but even with that fact the most surprising person in the room was the one at the Prosecutors Bench. Athena had never meet her before but even Edgeworth seemed surprised.

" Franziska..." He muttered.

She had her arms crossed even with her trusty whip in her hand, her eyes were closed and clearly had no intention of saying a word.

The judge entered the courtroom and everybody keep silence.

" Before we begin. " said the judge " I visited Mr. Wright this morning, I really hope he recovers soon. He is one of the most valuable men I've ever met and the Justice System itself owes him a lot. Know that I intend to find the culprit and see that justice is served. " while speaking he kept his head down and held his gavel firmly.

" We are all looking into that, Your Honor. " said Athena.

" I expect no less from the Defense and Prosecution. Now, let's begin the trial of... Miles Edgeworth? Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth is the defendant?"

" Yes, Your Honor. Last night at 8:10 pm the victim, Phoenix Wright, was found severely wounded at Room 1202 of the Prosecutors Office, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth's office if we are being precise, the victim was attended by the paramedics and not long after he fell into a coma. Miles Edgeworth was captured by the security camera and there is a witness. The prosecution has further evidence to back up his guilt."

" I'm quite shocked myself but let's proceed. It has been a long time, Ms. Von Karma."

" That fool of Phoenix Wright, I couldn't let his trial being prosecuted by someone foolish. The Prosecution calls its first witness, Forensics Chief Ema Skye."

Ema took the stand and looked sadly at Athena and Simon.

" The victim was hurt several times. All points to a previous confrontation between the victim and the defendant which ended when Mr. Wright was shot, Mr. Wright has a broken wrist, a wound in the head, and some bruises that backup that claim. He was also stabbed in the side with a knife that belongs to the defendant and has his fingerprints in it. Lastly, he was shot in the stomach, there are burns in his clothes that indicates the shot was at point blank, we haven't found the gun and it is impossible to analyze the ballistic marks from the bullet. A second bullet was found in the hallway."

" H-how is he even alive?!" asked an incredulous judge.

" Somehow both the knife and the bullet missed vital organs but he suffered severe blood loss, the police took a photo for reference when he was taken by the ambulance."

Athena felt sick just by looking at the photo, the memories from last night felt so fresh again, she stared at it a couple of minutes without knowing what to do until Simon took it gently off her hands.

" The bullet in the hallway is the one that was shot at Ms. Fey, I suppose. " asserted Blackquill.

" Ms. Fey was also wounded? Oh, that the two reunite again and this happens, how tragic..."

" Ms. Fey is fine Your Honor, in fact, she saw the moment of the shooting and is my next witness. " Franziska seemed a little distant, but focused.

" What? Proceed then. Stated the Judge Thank you Ms. Skye."

" Good look Athena! " yelled Ema before retiring. Athena smiled.

" Now, the Prosecution calls Maya Fey to the stand."

Maya seemed nervous and couldn't stop looking at Edgeworth in the defendant's bench, when he nodded she held her head up.

" Ms. Fey, oh, it should have been so hard to see the crime, Mr. Wright and you are so close. I'm terribly sorry..." exclaimed the judge.

" I'm fine Your Honor, it's not the first time I've witnessed a crime..."

Everybody suddenly fell silent, but Von Karma reacted and hit the desk with her whip.

" Let's leave the feelings for after the trial, now, please testify to what you saw at the office."

" Yes. I arrived at the office at 8:05 pm, I thought it was strange that the door was already opened, but I entered anyways. In that moment I saw Mr. Edgeworth pointing a gun at Nick, Nick was scared and already bleeding, then Mr. Edgeworth pointed the gun at me and shot. I ran to the elevator and before its doors closed I heard another shot. The elevator went down two floors and up again, I returned to the office fearing for Nick and found him lying on the floor."

" You came back to the scene knowing that the killer could still be in there? " asked the judge.

" I... Nick always takes care of me, when I heard the gunshot I imagined the worst, I didn't want him to die after all we have been through..."

The voice of Maya's heart was full of overflowing emotions, but her testimony was clear. Athena could swear she saw tears in the judge's eyes.

" Defense, you can cross"examine the witness. But… Please, be gentle."

" I'm fine, Your Honor. I'm doing this for Nick! " exclaimed Maya, being for an instant her usual cheery self.

Athena readied herself and smiled for Maya. Then began with the questions.

It was impossible for Maya to lie, so she needed as much information as she could obtain.

" Maya, was the position of Mr. Wright was different when you saw him the first time before you fled?"

" Yes, he was closer to the door."

" He was already wounded?"

" I think he was. He had his hand pressed against his body and I'm sure some blood was dripping from his fingers...Ema said they fought before so I believe he was hurt during the fight."

" Are you sure you saw Mr. Edgeworth clearly?"

" No, I didn't see his face but he had his suit, cravat, and grey hair."

" Objection! " That. Just the moment Athena was waiting for. " The defendant wasn't wearing his jacket at the time, he gave it to Trucy Wright just before we all arrived to the scene. It would be impossible for the witness to see him in full su-Eeek! " Athena was suddenly interrupted by a quick whip, Franziska waved her hand in negation.

" That was a weak one, c'mon, don't tell me you are as foolish as your mentor. You don't have proof to show that he wasn't wearing his jacket at that point."

" Uhh...yes, I have something. Ms. Fey can testify to that."

" Even if the witness saw him before and wasn't wearing it, there's evidence to show the answer to that. " she showed a photo of Edgeworth's office, taken a while ago when it wasn't a crime scene. " Miles Edgeworth keeps in his office another jacket, the one he made his prosecutorial debut in, it's usually hanging on the wall. But it was missing from the crime scene, he could have taken it from its place, used it and then disposed of it.

" T-there was another?!"

" And with that, Your Honor, there's no more room for doubt..."

" Objection! Anyone else could have done the exact same thing!"

" What about the photo the security camera took ?"

Franziska submitted it as evidence as well as other two. Again the photo didn't show Edgeworth's face, but it looked just like him, in the other was Maya and the last photo showed Athena and Trucy.

" There were more photos but they only show the police and paramedics. Then we have testimony, a knife with the defendant's fingerprints, and photos...I certainly didn't expect that from Prosecutor Edgeworth but it seems like I'm now able to reach a verdict..." said the judge, looking troubled and sad.

A sudden wave of panic invaded Athena, it wasn't possible that there was nothing left to do, she was trying so hard to think in something, she looked at the photos again and again, at her notes...but nothing...

" Objection!"

Everybody was surprised, they expected Athena's voice to be...less manly.

" Simon?!"

" Does the defense have something to say? " the judge seemed surprised but also relieved, he clearly wanted the defense to keep fighting.

" Athena, don't give up so fast, that's not what Wright-dono would do. If the evidence doesn't add up to the truth, then it's time to doubt it, you trust in Mr. Edgeworth's innocence so don't even think about giving up. Do you hear me?!"

" Doubt? My precious evidence? You sure are a fool..." Franziska waved her whip but Simon drew his sword and cut it before it reached him. Franziska smashed her desk. " How dare you?!

" The evidence..." she looked again at the photos, her eyes focused on the one showing Phoenix in the ambulance, but she couldn't look at it for long, 'All that blood...he looked so happy before all of this...' The bitter thoughts at the back of her head continued, but suddenly, something clicked.

" Ms. von Karma, just one question, how does this security camera work?"

" It takes a photo every time a person enters or leaves the office building, it was installed after the Yatagarasu incident."

" Objection!"

" What now, foolish student of fool Phoenix Wright?" Yelled Franziska slamming her desk.

" Ms. Von Karma, there's something wrong about these photographs. Each one was taken when somebody entered the office, we can see Mr. Edgeworth, Ms. Fey, Ms. Wright, and myself. Is that correct?"

" Yes, and the police and paramedics too."

" But that means that one photo is missing! Not one of these photos show the moment Mr. Wright entered the building!"

" He could've entered from the parking lot."

" No, he couldn't. I know that in order to enter from there you need a ID card that only the prosecutors have, someone altered the camera data in order to hide something !"

" What? Only a security guard can do that, and there's no way that could have happened."

" There is a way..." said Simon, crossing his arms. " Who was the one who gave the photos to the prosecution?"

" A police officer, he asked for the photos from the guard and was also the one who arrested Edgeworth."

" You have the photos of the police arriving and leaving?"

" Yes, I don't think that's important to the case at hand but here, take them."

Simon took the photos and showed them to Athena.

" I've the feeling that something is wrong with these photos, check them."

At first glace there was nothing wrong, the police men were shown entering the building and then leaving escorting Mr. Edgeworth, some of them had stayed at the crime scene so there were fewer and only their backs were visible.

" I think I know what are you thinking Simon, Mr. Wright must have entered the building with somebody who is our suspect, but that person isn't shown in the photos arriving or leaving and if the guard didn't alter the photos we should look into the officer who asked for the photos."

" That's right, we can't trust in the number of officers because some of them stayed at the scene, the faces won't help us either because this photo only shows their backs. Try looking for some distinctive signs."

The first photo wasn't helpful at all, all officers had the same uniform, but then by looking at the second the truth revealed by itself.

" Objection! " Athena raised the photo in the air" There! The office who arrested Mr. Edgeworth, they are the only one who wore a cap when they left, but it's missing from the first photo!"

" A cap alone won't save the defendant, explain yourself. " yelled Von Karma.

" Mr. Wright had to enter the office with someone, the true culprit, but then there are no photos of them escaping. It's possible that they were prepared beforehand and changed their clothes into a police uniform, arrested Mr. Edgeworth and then made sure that the photos delivered to the prosecution didn't show them. But they made a mistake and wore a cap that nobody else was wearing!"

" What?! That's just crazy, you have no proof!"

" Reprint the security camera photos, we'll see it for ourselves!"

" Bailiff, reprint the photos and bring them here! " ordered the judge. " Until then, this court will take a recess, we will reconvene in""

" HOLD IT!"

The scream had come from one of the doors, it suddenly opened and a giant man in a dirty coat entered the court running like his life depended on it. He was carrying a backpack in his hands and wore white latex gloves.

" Scruffy! " yelled Franziska, it was hard to tell if she was mad or surprised.

" Hold it, your Honor, I've bring something to you!"

" Oh, Detective Gumshoe! Long time no see..." said the Judge in a tone almost nostalgic.

" You tell me! But first things first, Mr. Edgeworth, I received your message and immediately started to work, sir!"

Athena looked at Edgeworth, who softly touched the bridge of his glasses, she remembered that he had asked Ema for something, did this messy man have something to do with it?

" We inspected every suspicious looking nook and cranny in the roof like you told me to, and you were right, sir! We found it! " Gumshoe opened the backpack and pulled out an evidence bag that contained a red jacket, splattered with blood.

" The missing jacket! Where did you find it, Scruffy?!"

" It was hidden inside a ventilation pipe on the roof, but the jacket had something in one of its pockets! " he then reached for another bag, this time when he showed the evidence to the court, and everyone gasped. The bag contained a gun covered in blood.

" It makes sense, if the culprit wasn't seen leaving, the only place he could have run to, and then hide things is the roof. " said Simon.

" It's that...the murder weapon?!" exclaimed the Judge" All that blood...it's Mr. Wright's?"

" I can't tell for sure sir, I ran as fast as I could to bring it here and haven't had the chance to run a test."

" That's no problem, I will run a test immediately, Detective" said Ema, receiving the evidence from Gumshoe. Almost a second later the bailiff returned with the photos.

They checked them and there were two more photos, one showed Phoenix but he was all alone with his head down, then things got worse when they saw that the other photo showed a second Edgeworth, as he walked he was putting on the extra jacket and his face couldn't be seen.

" What the..." murmured Simon. " Ms. Von Karma's theory was correct, the special jacket was used, but it seems like it was previously stolen. What's stranger, Mr. Wright entered the offices alone..."

" Look at him Simon, there's something wrong with him...the way he's walking it's…. like he's in pain. Look, his right hand is hanging loose and his left is pressing against his side...this can't be..."

" Phoenix Wright was wounded even before entering the office..." concluded Franziska.

" What does that mean, Ms. Von Karma? " the judge seemed paler and was afraid to ask. Franziska herself was having a hard time.

" That Wright's assailant didn't go to the office to fight him; he went there to finish killing him..."

The courtroom exploded, all the people present were making a commotion and couldn't stop talking and yelling. Athena looked horrified at Simon and he only locked his eyes with her, putting his hand at her shoulder in a comforting way. What Franziska had said was a horrible truth.

" Order! ORDER! " the Judge desperately tried to no avail, but then Ema re"entered the court and her expression distracted the gallery. She looked so sad, what the heck had she discovered?

" Everybody, order and listen to the Detective now! " screamed Simon smashing the desk, even if undying murmurs still could be heard, the courtroom was in order once more.

" What did you find? " asked the Judge, Athena heard a lot of mixed emotions from Ema's heart, something was very wrong.

" Th-the blood it's Mr. Wright's...both in the jacket and the gun...the gun was fired three times and we found fingerprints..."

" From the defendant?"

" No, the prints aren't from anybody related to the case...they-they belong to..."

" Ema, calm down, now we know that Mr. Edgeworth is innocent, it's time to know who the real culprit is. " said Athena trying to comfort her.

But then, Ema started crying.

" Apollo Justice...the fingerprints belong to Apollo Justice..."


	7. Turnabout Ride

**December 23, 1:35 pm.**

 **Defendant Lobby No. 3**

Everything happened so fast after Ema's report. For Athena, it just was like a blurry memory, the judge summarized all the evidence in favor of Edgeworth and declared him Not Guilty. The trial ended, but the case was far from it.

They all reunited back in the lobby, locking the door.

" What the heck just happened! " yelled Simon" How the heck did Justice's fingerprints find their way onto the weapon, he's in Kura 'in!"

" Have any of you called him today? " asked Edgeworth.

" Trucy tried to call him yesterday to tell him about Nick but he didn't answer. " said Maya" We can call Nahyuta to ask if he knows something."

Edgeworth took his phone and called the Prosecutor, the look of confusion on his face faded as Nahyuta answered his questions, he promised to talk later to fully inform the young Prosecutor.

" Mr. Justice isn't in Kura 'in, according to Nahyuta he took a flight yesterday, he said that Mr. Wright asked him to come. Nahyuta can't get ahold of him either." clarified Edgeworth.

" Maya, do you remember what Mr. Wright told us before passing out?" asked Athena.

" To find Apollo..."

" So the truth he was referring to wasn't about Thalassa but the case itself..." reassured Edgeworth.

" We have to find him..." Murmured Maya.

" I'm afraid here's where we take different paths." Stated Edgeworth.

" What?! But, Mr. Edgeworth" Started Athena.

" Calm down Ms. Cykes, let me explain, I'll prosecute this case personally, we can cover more ground if we split up. I'll investigate the building in more detail. I assume you will be defending Mr. Justice, so find him as soon as you can."

" What? But Mr. Edgeworth, you are planning to seriously accuse Apollo?"

" I don't know much of the case for now, that's why we need to cooperate if we want to uncover the truth. Plus, we know now that Wright was attacked somewhere else and was being chased when he arrived to my office, we have to find out the first crime scene. I'm counting with you, Ms. Cykes?"

" Yes! Let's find the true culprit!"

Edgeworth returned to his office with Gumshoe, Blackquill stayed with Athena and Maya. Somebody was going to be sent to be at Wright's side back at the hospital but Edgeworth didn't give them much detail. The three teams were after a single truth...

(Song I recommend to listen: watch?v=0ENOkG7gP7U&list=PL6akIKaXBeU1ZO_IApxeShVmSK0SLnSvu&index=34)

It was the first time Edgeworth had the chance to look at the crime scene in detail. There was more blood than he remembered, all over his chessboard and on the floor, he remembered seeing his friend lying in the floor and himself freezing in panic. Miles' fists closed in anger, but suddenly he was awoke from his thoughts by a pair of detectives entering the room.

" Mr. Edgeworth, sir!"

" Detective Gumshoe, thank you for what you did back at the courtroom. " a short reverence added meaning to Edgeworth's words, making the Detective laugh out loud.

" No problem, sir. It's nice to work for you again. Anyway, your office is a mess, is that why you're so interested in this case?"

Edgeworth couldn't believe it.

" Detective...you haven't heard a word of the case?"

" Aside from the note you gave me I have no clue, sir...why are you making such a scary face?"

" The victim of this case is Phoenix Wright, someone dressed as me shot him right here in this office."

" WHAAAAAAT?!" the Detective suddenly turned pale, he looked at the blood and then at Edgeworth. " D"don't tell me that he is...Mr. Wright..." his voice cracked at the sole mention of the name, tears rolled down his face faster than Edgeworth could think.

" Hey, calm down Detective, he's not dead yet. He's at the hospital currently in a coma but everybody is keeping in good spirits and hoping he wakes up soon.

" You should have told me before! I almost had a heart attack...but then that means, you were being accused of shooting him, sir?"

" Yes, but you cleared up my name with the evidence you found."

" And some photos, forensic tests and a young lawyer along with a creepy man. I guess it's easier said than done..." the voice of the one making that comment took Gumshoe by surprise, but when he recognized the young woman at the door he ran and hugged her.

" Kay!"

" Hey Gummy! I missed you too!"

Edgeworth wanted to be happy too, seriously, but he just couldn't think about anything aside from the case.

" Mr. Edgeworth! It's good to see you again!"

" It is, Kay, you've grown up." she truly had, years had passed and even if she still was the cheery and weird girl Miles knew, she looked more grown up and was wearing other attire. She was a detective now and often worked under Gumshoe's guidance, even if it looked like it was the other way around.

" And you wear glasses now, you seem more badass. " Kay looked at the crime scene. " You say the victim is one of your friends?"

" Yes, Phoenix Wright, my closest friend. He has done a lot for me..."

" I'm truly sorry..."

" It's not time to be sorry, it's time to search for the truth. If you could, please help me. I would be truly grateful..."

" It's my pleasure, Mr. Edgeworth. Where do we begin?"

" First, Ms. Skye, if you could please perform a luminol test in the hallway and on the doorknob."

" Sure, Mr. Edgeworth."

As expected, there were traces of blood all over the floor, it wasn't a lot, but the trail was from the elevator door to the office, the doorknob didn't react at all to the Luminol.

" What does it mean, sir?"

" That Wright was bleeding when he arrived, either from his head or the knife wound, but he didn't touch the door, it was already open. The assailant had forced the door before he got here and waited for Wright from the inside. " Edgeworth looked at the room" Kay, I need your help. If you could please recreate the scene with Little Thief."

" You got it, Mr. Edgeworth. " Kay input the data and soon the projection filled the room. Phoenix entered the room, when he passed through the door suddenly his assailant appeared, Maya opened the door, the assailant shot at her making her run and then they turned again at Phoenix and shot him. It seemed almost complete, but the assailant appearing from nowhere wasn't logical. " If that's the way Wright entered the room, the culprit had to appear from behind to shot Wright like that, plus, Ms. Fey saw only his back. So he could only be hiding behind the door. Please update the recreation, Kay."

Doing that, the sudden appearance of the assailant was clear, but that then contradicted Maya's testimony in which she said that she pushed the door open and entered.

" So, when the assailant was hiding the door was open, Wright entered and then the assailant came out of his hiding place, closed the door behind him, and faced Wright. Maya came in after that."

" Why did he close the door?"

" He didn't want to give Maya much time to see him, that's what I think. That's enough, Kay, you can deactivate Little Thief. Ms. Skye, please dust this side of the door for fingerprints."

Ema did as requested, but not a single print was found, she informed Edgeworth with a sad look on her face, but he smiled.

" It's not a problem, we can assume that our culprit did exactly what we thought. The answer is now clear, the assailant was wearing gloves or something on their hands, and that's why there are no fingerprints on the door. Ergo, the culprit cannot be Mr. Justice, or we would have found his prints on the door instead of none at all."

" But then how did Apollo's prints end up on the gun? " asked Ema.

" That's what we have to find out next. Detective Gumshoe, do you still have Missile?"

" Yeah! He's quite the old pal but he's still the pride and joy of the police department. You want me to bring him here, sir?"

" Yes, I think he can track Wright and tell us where he came from."

" I'm on my way, sir!"

Gumshoe was gone in the blink of an eye, he came back just a little after to Edgeworth's office with his beloved dog in his arms, Missile smelled Phoenix's suit and soon started to walk. Gumshoe, Kay, Ema, and Edgeworth followed him.

The more they walked the more surprised Edgeworth looked, he can't believe how much Phoenix had walked, they turned a corner and Missile started barking. Gumshoe examined the alleyway and found a bike with the front completely crooked.

" It's Wright's bike , he rides that thing everywhere, what's doing here?"

" Looks like he had an accident, not a lot of things can make a bike end up like this. " commented Gumshoe presenting the bike.

" He was probably riding it on his way to the office and some car hit him. Poor Mr. Wright, maybe he never fought his assailant and this is how he ended up bruised, such a run of bad luck..." deduced Ema.

" Then somebody threw his bike here in the trash, I doubt he could have been capable. But there's a thing bugging me..." he looked at Missile, who started smelling the air again. " He was in the Club when he received my call, but he keeps his bike at his office..."

Missile barked and then ran, the team followed the dog even though Gumshoe was carrying the bike and they arrived at a familiar place.

The Wright Anything Agency.

" What the..." exclaimed Edgeworth when he looked at the front of the building, completely surrounded by the police...


	8. Turnabout Justice

**Court Record (Athena and Simon):**

 ***UPDATED, USED EVIDENCE DISCARDED***

 **Attorney's Badge:**

It´s still shiny, proof that I'm a defense attorney.

 **Magatama:**

Mr. Wright gave it to me. It lets you see the secrets of a person's heart.

 **Bullet #1:**

Found at Edgeworth's office, unidentified.

 **Edgeworth's jacket:**

He gave it to Trucy in his way to the office.

 **Wright´s Medical Report:**

The bullet went clean trough his stomach, shot at point blank, he was hit on the left side of his head with a hard, plain and large object, his right wrist is broken and some bruises are thought to be defensive injuries, last but not least, he was stabbed with a knife at his right side.

 **Wright's notebook.**

Seems like it´s his agenda. He was going to meet Ms. Thalassa Gramarye.

 **Wright's wallet.**

He has just a few bucks, but has a photo of Trucy on it.

 **Wright´s watch.**

It´s broken, stopped at 7:00 pm.

 **Photo of the first visitor.**

Obtained at the hospital, it shows woman dressed in white clothes with light brown hair entering Wright's room.

 **Knife**

It is Edgeworth´s, has his fingerprints. Used to stab Mr. Wright.

 **Wright's suit.**

Very blue. Has a lot of blood on it, I can´t stand seeing it for long. Shows that he was shot at point blank.

 **Attorney's Badge:**

Mr. Wright´s…years of experience are stored here, I feel like his heart is as well.

 **Bullet #2.**

Found in the hallway.

 **Photo #2.**

Taken in the ambulance as reference, shows Mr. Wright as we found him.

 **Security Camera Photos**

Taken at the entrance of the building. Shows Mr. Edgeworth before Maya and me.

 **Bloodied Jacket**

Was hanged on Mr. Edgeworth's Office. Supposedly used to impersonate him.

 **Bloodied Gun**

Covered on Mr. Wright's blood, was fired three times. Has Apollo's prints.

Simon and Athena were all alone, sitting together in a park near the courthouse. Athena clicked a lot of things in Widget's hologram while Simon checked a map and his phone.

" From where do we begin?"

" You know Justice-dono better than me, I can have Taka looking for him from the skies but surely he isn't in the streets."

" Apollo isn't one to hide, he must be somewhere. What doesn't make sense to me is, if he saw the crime, then why wasn't he at the scene or make an appearance at some point?"

" He didn't appear in the security footage either."

" Hm... I'm wondering if Mr. Wright wasn't delirious..."

" No, somehow his prints ended up in the gun. Surely he is connected to the case, looks like our only chance to have answers is to find him."

" First, I'd like to go to the Wright Anything Agency, I want to pick some documents from old cases. We can look if Apollo stopped there too."

The office wasn't far, now that Athena thought about it, nobody had returned to it since they all left to go to Trucy's show, that's why, when she looked at the unlocked door, something gave her a bad feeling almost instantly.

" Go behind me. " said Simon as he drew his sword. He opened the door and entered without making any sound.

Nobody was in there. But the instant they entered, the smell of blood filled their hearts with pure fear. It was everywhere, on the floor, splattered all over the old piano, on the sofa, even a few drops stained Wright's desk.

" What the heck happened here?!" exclaimed Simon, he kept his sword out in alarm and stepped in. Something cracked under his feet, upon a closer look they were pieces of a pot, the plant that belonged in there was all yellow and with its leaves down.

" Oh no, not Charley too..." murmured Athena.

When they were sure that nobody else was in there, Simon called the police.

" We can examine the crime scene before the police arrive. Hurry up."

First, the blood. It looked like the aftermath of a fight, but the way it was splattered over the piano pointed to someone seriously wounded, maybe from a knife or a gunshot. It made sense to think that Mr. Wright was stabbed here.

The pot of Charley was completely broken, as if somebody hit it with a lot of force. In general, the office was a total mess, very similar to Edgeworth's.

Simon checked the desk, nothing seemed so interesting until he opened the drawer, inside were more drops of blood and a yellow envelope , it had a pair of bloody prints.

" Whoever put it in here must have been in a hurry, this drawer was open when the person bleeding in here was hurt, then they shoved the envelope in the drawer and closed it."

" It can be an important clue. Let's open it."

Simon did as request; the letter was simple:

Phoenix Wright.

Run away.

I may not be responsible if you don't follow this warning.

Athena looked at Blackquill.

" Someone warned Mr. Wright! But who?"

" The envelope doesn't have any directions, names or even postage stamp. It only says "To Phoenix Wright". We can ask for an analysis of the handwriting later, I can hear the police coming."

The door opened slowly, but when they looked at the one standing before them it took them by surprise.

" Apollo!"

As soon as Apollo saw Athena, he turned and ran away...

" What the..." Simon ran after him but it was too late, a police officer recognized him and arrested him on the spot. Athena tried to stop the officer from taking him away but it was useless.

" Hold it! Officer, you can't arrest this man yet. I have to question him right now. " Edgeworth, just in time.

The officer let the giant detective from before handle Apollo, Ema entered the office examining it right away under Simon's observations.

" Why did you run Apollo? Something's wrong?"

Apollo didn't answer. Edgeworth didn't know him enough to know what could he be thinking, Phoenix had told him a lot about the young lawyer but he had barely spent time with him. He was still wearing his classic red suit but he also had a long coat that gave him a strange air, Miles remembered seeing that same coat in the hideout back at Kura 'in, Apollo even used it in a way similar to Dhurke's with his left arm resting inside the jacket. But even with the new look, Apollo somehow looked older.

" Listen, Mr. Justice, you're being accused of something really grave, I have reasons to think that you shot Wright, so please, tell me is all baseless conjecture..."

" I... can't tell for sure..." answered Apollo, sending a chill to Miles' spine.

" Can't tell for sure, how can you say that? You weren't at this office or Edgeworth's, do you? " asked Athena.

" No."

 ***KLANK!***

Suddenly, Athena's vision was filled with chains. She wasn't expecting locks to appear from him, let alone two of them. But when they turned black she felt her heart fell to the ground.

" WHAT THE HELL APOLLO!"

" Don't tell me you saw that cursed locks..." moaned Edgeworth.

" They're black, sir! BLACK!"

" Calm down Ms. Cykes" he tried to sound as calm as possible, he knew about the black locks, Phoenix had told him about them and how there were almost impossible to break. They symbolized a secret so deep inside the persons that themselves didn't know about all it, it was like a locked memory.

" Apollo, we know you're lying, why would you do this? " asked a very concerned Athena.

" I-I'm not lying at all...I wasn't at this office...I think..." that last only came out as a mumbling. The look on his eyes made something click immediately in Miles' head.

" Don't tell me, you have amnesia."

" Sort of, I can't remember most of the things that happened yesterday. I thought that if I visited this office I would remember something."

" Then why did you ran?"

" I saw the office and indeed remembered something...I thought you knew and I wasn't ready to confront you."

" What did you remember?"

" I saw Mr. Wright at the office, that's all..."

" Mr. Justice, come with me. " Edgeworth took Apollo to the office, now filled with cops, but as soon as Apollo saw the blood he paled and started shaking.

" No... this...can't be..." Athena heard a lot of fear from Apollo, but also pain and regret. " No... Mr. Wright..."

The young lawyer collapsed on his knees, Edgeworth's features were filled with worry as he helped Apollo to sit down.

" Talk to me Mr. Justice, calm down."

" I... I remember a fight, Mr. Wright was there and then...I held a gun...I shot twice...and heard his scream" he covered his eyes with his hand.

" What?! That's not possible Apollo, Mr. Wright wasn't shot here! Do you even know how to shot a gun?"

" I thought it was just a bad dream, I really hoped so, but..." he took off his jacket and opened his red vest and shirt, revealing his heavily bandaged shoulder. " How can I deny my actions when there's even proofs...how?..."

" What happened to you pal?!" asked Gumshoe.

" You...were shot too?!" Edgeworth was genuinely surprised and examined Apollo's bandages carefully.

" Yes, but I can't remember too well how it happened. I'm sure that it was at this office, Mr. Wright was also here, I remember holding the gun and shooting twice. But everything is so confusing and mixed, I don't even know how I managed to escape and end up at Eldoon's place."

" Eldoon? The noodle guy?" yelled Athena.

" He's also a doctor, he saved me."

" What did he tell you?"

" That he found me by chance, he went to buy his salt and found me at his door. He took me to his place and cured me."

" He extracted a bullet from your shoulder in a noodle stand? " Athena found it so hard to believe, yet Apollo was dead serious.

" I could't believe it either, but he's a better doctor than I expected…" He pulled out from one of his pockets a tiny plastic bag, it had a tiny bullet in it, he gave it to Ema.

" What?!"

" He told me that it had hit bone, my collar bone is shattered and I can't feel my arm right now, it still needs proper surgery. " he unconsciously touched his arm.

" Then we need to clear your name of suspicions, if you get arrested your wound will get worse."

" But it's almost sure that I did it..."

" No, and I will tell you why. For the location of your wound and the characteristics you describe the only way it could have been inflicted is that you were shot from a low point, and the burnt at your vest indicates that it was at point blank."

" Oh, I get it!, he shot himself...wait, what? " commented Gumshoe.

" Yes, he shot himself, but there's the possibility that he did it while struggling with the real culprit."

" Struggling? oh" Apollo put his finger on his forehead like all the times he thought about the things carefully, Edgeworth continued.

" Think about it, the only way his fingerprints could end at the gun in the way there are it's if the pulled the trigger while fighting for it."

" Y-you are right Mr. Edgeworth! I can remember now! " one lock broke down and put a smile at Athena's face. " I entered the office and saw a person pointing at Mr. Wright, who was at his desk, in the heat of the moment I jumped right at the person and fight him, I tried to take his weapon out of his hand but it was a foolish mistake. I fired the gun by accident."

" See Apollo? You couldn't have hurt Mr. Wright then, your memories were just all mixed."

" But wait, I truly remember two shots and Mr. Wright's scream..."

" When you fought the culprit, where were you? " asked Edgeworth.

" I recall I was in front of the piano."

Looking at the crime scene, right in that spot were the splatters of blood, with that a new contradiction appeared.

" Justice-dono, if you were in front of the piano that means this blood is yours. But the bullet that was still in your body means that there wasn't an exit wound, then how did your blood end there?"

" Maybe I was just facing the other way."

" In that case the blood must had splattered into the culprit and the gun, but the only blood we found in it belongs to Mr. Wright. " remarked Ema. " I'm performing an analysis to know whose blood is it."

" Just Mr. Wright's blood? That doesn't make sense, if Apollo shot himself while fighting is obvious that his blood would splatter on the gun but it's not there." observed Athena.

" You're right Ms. Cykes, I'd like to know exactly what happened here. It seems like I can use your help again Kay."

" Yes, it's my time to shine again!" Kay screamed.

Athena flinched, he was so focused on Apollo that she hasn't seen the young girl standing next to Edgeworth. She pulled a small device and input everything Edgeworth told her, a few minutes later she held it high and everything turned green, a hologram showed Apollo fighting an unknown figure right in front of the piano.

" Mr. Edgeworth! I have the results, the blood in the piano and the sofa are from Apollo, but the one at the desk belongs to Mr. Wright."

Apollo paled, but Athena tried to calm him down telling him the facts, if Phoenix had been shot in there, there would be more blood than just a few drops. Ergo, if the fact that two bullets were shot was true, one had yet to be found.

" We must look to that second bullet you say you shot. If you were in front of the piano there's not a lot of places where it could have landed." said Athena.

" Mr. Edgeworth! Charley's pot was entire when we left, if they fought close to Charley then his pot could have been broken by accident by Apollo or the culprit." pointed Athena. Edgeworth asked Gumshoe to search among the remains of the pot and he indeed found the missing bullet. It was sent immediately to analysis.

" Edgeworth-dono, this bullet couldn't have come from the gun Justice-dono fired, look at the angle of which a gun can be fired and land into the potted plant." commented Blackquill.

" Wait, that's right! I wouldn't be able to shot the second bullet. You said the prints you found in the gun were from my left hand, isn't it?" asked Apollo.

" I didn't say such thing, I just said the position was weird and pointed to a struggle." grunted Edgeworth.

" But you're right Apollo, these prints are from your left hand. " confirmed Ema.

" I was hurt by the first shot and since then I can't feel my arm. That bullet must have come from a different gun!"

They updated the info with their discoveries. The angle of the bullet pointed to a completely different position from Apollo or the assailant.

" There was a fourth person here. They shot the plant and probably hit Wright given the scream Mr. Justice heard..." Edgeworth found it very strange.

" Ugh! I-I remember now! just before passing out from the shot I saw a person right next to Mr. Wright, then I heard the next gunshot and his scream, the fourth person must have crushed Mr. Wright's hand when he tried to reach the phone!"

With that, the second lock opened itself and the truth came to light, even if it left with even more questions than before...


	9. Turnabout Mentor

**Court Record (Edgeworth):**

 **Prosecutor Badge:**

I keep it at my pocket. Brings back so many memories…

 **Wright's Bike:**

It's in pretty bad shape. Was hidden on an alley.

 **Stray bullet:**

Found at the pot of the mascot of Wright's Agency.

 **December 23, 3:00 pm**

 **Wright Anything Agency**

" So, when you entered the office you saw a person pointing a gun at Wright, you tried to fight them and ended up shot. Before you lost consciousness you saw a person right next to Wright and that person broke Wright's hand trying to stop him from calling the police. " summarized Edgeworth, Apollo nodded.

" But, that extra person, I didn't saw them when I entered."

" So they could have entered after you. " but doing the simulation with Little Thief proved it to be impossible, the time between Apollo's fighting and then being shot was extremely short, nobody could walk from the door to Wright's side in that time, let alone broke his wrist and shooting Charley. The only option was for them to enter by the window.

Athena examined it and found traces in the dust from someone using it recently. The fourth person really entered through it, but why?

" This is kinda new for me, you know? for the first time we know exactly what happened in here and in Mr. Edgeworth's office, but we don't have even one suspect..." Athena seemed confused and a bit down, Apollo put his good hand in her shoulder.

" Mr. Edgeworth, this is the most premeditated crime I have ever seen, but I still can't find a reason behind the actions of the responsible. Why enter from the window? Why they didn't kill Mr. Wright right here? What's more important, Mr. Wright himself had no reason to be here in the first place, he was at his daughter's show and then he said he was going to your office. I just can't get it Mr. Edgeworth..." mumbled Kay, voicing the questions everybody in that room had.

" Plus, if Apollo's blood isn't in the gun it can't be the one that shot him. There must be another one. " pointed Ema.

" I can at least answer for the motive of Mr. Wright returning here. " Simon presented the letter "we found this in his desk, he tried to hide it from his assailants so it must be important enough for him to return to this office to pick it up."

" What does it say?" asked Kay.

" Somebody warned him..."

" Hold it! I-I know that handwriting...but...it can't be!" said Apollo taking a closer look, his good hand started shaking. " It's Mr. Gavin's..."

" What? Glimmerous fop?!" yelled Ema.

" No, his brother, Kristoph Gavin. Former defense attorney convicted for murder. " Edgeworth took the letter "Are you sure of it, Mr. Justice?"

Apollo nodded.

" I will run a handwriting comparison, it shouldn't take long." offered Ema taking the letter with her.

" Detective Gumshoe, go to the prison and make the necessary arrangements for us to see Mr. Gavin. You personally bring him to the meeting room."

" Yes sir! On my way sir!"

As Gumshoe made his exit only Edgeworth, Blackquill, Apollo and Athena remained in the room.

" So, we're going to the detention center now? " asked Athena.

" No, you and Mr. Blackquill will go to the hospital. I need you to talk with Trucy, maybe she knows something about the envelope."

" Aw, I wanted to meet our suspect. But OK, I get it, you're not good with children..."

Edgeworth crossed his arms.

" Just so you know, I'm almost like an uncle to Trucy. That's not the reason why I'm not going."

" Then why?"

Edgeworth's features suddenly darkened, Athena heard a lot of noise from him but no locks appeared, Simon touched her shoulder.

" C'mon, that's not important, let's go." said Simon.

Athena didn't question further, she had a feeling Simon knew something. A couple of minutes later Edgeworth exited the room in company of Apollo and Kay, up in his car Apollo seemed so nervous.

" Something the matter, Mr. Justice?"

" No, it's just, Kristoph Gavin... he's someone that I thought I would never see again after everything that happened..."

" I know, but you know him at least better than myself, I need you."

" Yeah. Whatever for Mr. Wright."

" Mr. Justice, are you sure that what you told us was everything you knew?"

" Yes Mr. Edgeworth, I can't remember a single thing after that."

" Well, somehow you ended at Eldoon's and Wright at the Prosecutor's offices. We found Wright's bike in a alley nearby, somehow he escaped from the assailants and reached my office, but if that's the case it means that he left you alone with the assailants in the Agency."

" What? I'm... having a hard time believing that."

" It's just a hypothesis, we have no other proofs to explain what transpired between the three different places, we have to investigate further."

As Edgeworth ended they arrived at their destiny. Apollo felt his entire body turn as cold as ice, he wasn't prepared. They make all the procedures needed and ended up sat side by side in front of the glass wall, waiting for who looked like the devil himself.

 **December 23, 3:30 pm**

 **Meeting Room**

 **Detention Center**

(Song I recommend to listen: watch?v=1M9N-gTPeAU&index=30&list=PL6akIKaXBeU2Fd7QiZfTT6E6gn54j1gDw)

When he finally appeared he was barely recognizable, he still had his glasses but everything else was so out of place. His golden hair now looked messy, he was wearing a prison uniform and his face projected more years than the ones he had lived. When he saw Apollo, suddenly his face changed and a defiant smile made its appearance.

" Oh, Mr. Justice, long time no see..." he looked at Edgeworth and again at Apollo. " Don't tell me that you're now a prosecutor..."

" I won't tell you more than you need to know." answered Apollo, coldly.

Kristoph crossed his arms.

" I see. I always thought that all your hate to me was Wright's doing but now I can see that it was truly yours. I should have known, after all, it's the first time we see each other in almost three years."

(Gavin is talking a lot, he used to be quieter, prison must be tough. I don't see anything strange, I need to focus on this, move Justice!) Thought Apollo to himself. He quickly shoved the letter in front of Gavin's face.

" This is your writing, what's this? why did you send it? how? Answer."

Apollo tried to be quick and cold even if it was hard for him, being a man guided by feelings and strong emotions, the kind of emotions that drove him to interrupt a trial and accuse his coworker of murdering his best friend, the ones that allowed him to defend Trucy or to follow Dhurke's path. In front of Kristoph he had to contain all that feelings if he wanted answers, Gavin he was a smart and composed man, but also a psychopath.

And his former mentor. The first person in lending him a hand as a lawyer, the first mentor he had in his career.

Kristoph touched his glasses and his smile faded little by little.

" If that letter is now in your power I assume Phoenix Wright is now dead. " A shiver shook Apollo's body, Edgeworth also tensed.

" He's not dead. Now answer me."

" Yes. I wrote that letter, do you even bothered yourself in reading it?"

" I'm the one asking. You're a suspect now."

" A suspect? Of what, trying to warn Wright from a killer?"

" Don't take me for a fool, you murdered a man just because he forged evidence for you. Mr. Wright put you in prison, why should I believe that you tried to save him? " again, Kristoph smiled.

" Don't get me wrong, I do not desire anything as strong as I wish to kill him, but, as you can see it's not an easy goal for me right now."

" You're speaking so freely..."

" I have nothing to lose now, it's not like you can do something either. Besides, I'm just being honest."

" You...hired someone? " asked Edgeworth.

" No, he doesn't trust anyone. If he wants to do something he will do it himself...wait" as Apollo came to a realization his eyes widened.

" I see you realized now why I warned him. Are all your doubts cleared now?"

So, he warned him to keep him alive enough to kill him with his own hands... Apollo was having a hard time, it doesn't matter how much he thought he knew Kristoph, he always managed to surprise him in the worst way possible.

" How did you sent it? " Edgeworth noticed Apollo sudden loss of words, maybe even deduced the same as him and jumped to the next question.

" That, I sincerely don't know, I wrote the letter and asked a guard to deliver it but he refused. Even before the prison break occurred the letter went missing, but somehow it reached you."

" What? Somebody stole it?"

" Indeed. I never sent it."

" Detective Gumshoe, I need you to check exactly who escaped the prison as long as we finish with this. " ordered Edgeworth. " Now, Mr. Gavin, exactly how did you know that somebody was going to attack Wright?"

" Oh, I suppose everybody in the prison knows that. It's impossible not to hear the rumors all over the place, it isn't just one person that wants him dead, you know. But I wrote the letter as soon as the plans of the break began to spread."

" You cooperate with them?"

" I'm in a special cell, I couldn't have escaped even if I wanted so I had no reason to cooperate. But as a clue, the letter didn't have an envelope when I wrote it."

" I think that's enough, we must leave now. " Edgeworth touched Apollo's shoulder as a signal and prepared to retire.

" Apollo, he got what he deserved. " commented Kristoph, making Apollo react.

" You're not provoking me with that, you know nothing of Mr. Wright."

" I'm afraid that you're the one who only sees what he wants you to see."

" Why do you say that?"

" Phoenix Wright is a man to fear. He may look so reliable and noble, but deep inside he's a monster."

" He used to be your friend!"

" And I used to be your mentor, but he changed everything. I bet you never thought about all the things he gladly gives off in sake of his precious truth. He betrayed me, he manipulated you back then. But sadly, we weren't the first ones, or will be the last, you're simply refusing to see all of it""

Apollo smashed the table in front of him.

" STOP! I'M NOT HEARING ANYMORE!"

But Kristoph was dead serious, no smile, no defiant looks. He leaned a bit in his seat.

" Fine, don't listen to me if you don't want to. But I owe one to you, for the sake of the times when you trusted me, take my word not as who I am now but as who I was when you came to my office, take my word as a mentor, Apollo."

Gumshoe took Kristoph in his custody and left the room, Apollo stayed frost for a moment thinking of what he had just witnessed.

A warning, as a Mentor?


	10. Phoenix

**December 23, 6:00 pm**

 **Parking Lot**

 **Detention Center**

Kristoph Gavin's words resounded with force in Apollo's head, the more he thought about them the more he was intrigued. He walked to Edgeworth's car almost automatically.

" So he just wanted to warn Wright about the attack. And based on your reaction, he did it in order to kill him by himself." resumed Edgeworth.

" Indeed." answered Apollo.

Edgeworth noticed a puzzling look on the young lawyer's eyes. Before starting the engine, he calmly looked at him and said. " You have doubts."

" My bracelet reacted when Mr. Gavin talked about Mr. Wright."

" Huh? So he was lying?"

" It didn't react on Mr. Gavin, it reacted on you, Mr. Edgeworth. " even if it took Edgeworth by surprise, he didn't said a word" You tend to be calm and serious all the time, we can't tell for sure what are you feeling just by looking at you. However, back there you made an interesting move. When Mr. Gavin said "I bet you never thought about all the things he gladly gives off in sake of his precious truth", you reached for your pocket and held something in your hand.""

" That's hardly relevant."

" It isn't. I know you keep your Prosecutor's badge in your pocket, somehow what Mr. Gavin said made you held that very badge, and if I'm right it has something to do with Mr. Wright."

" Ngh..." Edgeworth crossed his arms.

" You can keep silent if you want, but I will investigate on my own if you do."

" Are you threatening me?"

" No no, I can just ask Trucy, Mr. Wright and her know a lot about each other, you know?"

" You're basing an entire investigation in plain gossip?!" If it wasn't a serious conversation, Apollo would have laughed at the expression in Edgeworth's face.

" So, what will it be?"

They had time, Kay was still to join them. Edgeworth sighed and took his badge, looking at it like it was his most treasured possession.

" When I was young I thought that the most important thing was a guilty verdict, I didn't care if the defendant was innocent or not, I just wanted to win. " Apollo couldn't even imagine it, he had heard something about a Demon Prosecutor back in the days. " But then, that man appeared. He showed me how wrong I was, I learned that what really matters is the truth, I was able to find my own path. All thanks to him."

" Mr. Wright..."

Edgeworth nodded.

" He helped me countless times to arrive at the truth hiding behind the cases we solved together. I owe him everything I am now."

Apollo couldn't help but smile, their relationship was even more than it looked at plain sight. But there was even more to it.

" I get it now, but then, why did you thought about it all back with Mr. Gavin? He mentioned Mr. Wright, not you."

" Listen, Mr. Justice. " his face turned serious, he even took off his glasses and looked at him right in the eyes. " The Wright you and I know is a man of respect, a caring father and a great lawyer. But, after all, he's just human. " Edgeworth's glare suddenly locked in the front of the car. The night was very close and it was starting to feel cooler, the sky turning into a colorful canvas full of oranges and red as the sun fell on the horizon. " He too thinks in the truth as the ultimate end, and has committed so many mistakes in the sake of it. Mistakes that had made him enemies, like Kristoph Gavin, it's true that he betrayed his friendship three years ago, and that he used you or even his daughter. Kristoph may think that he did it just because of vengeance, but there wasn't another thing on his head than justice. And at the end, I think he did it because he trusted you. He put his faith in a complete stranger back then if you think about it, a plan of seven years suddenly being carried away by a rookie lawyer like the one he once was. He bet everything on you and you did it."

" Nobody used me, I acted on my own will. I went to Mr. Wright's office all by myself and I betrayed Mr. Gavin because that was the only way to reach the truth, not for anything else." answered Apollo.

" You answered yourself, thanks to these ideas of yours, Wright saw in you an ally. You were just what he was looking for and you did it better than anyone expected."

Apollo smiled, he had always thought about that days as terrible ones and tried not to think much about them, there were so confusing and crazy. Now a new way of seeing them was exposed by Mr. Edgeworth, one that didn't sound so bad and actually give him some merit.

" That doesn't explain some of Wright's actions, like the forged card, but..." he put his glasses on again. " In despite of his mistakes, he's still the Wright we knew. And I intend to know the whole truth behind all of this, I hope you're on board too."

" Of course Mr. Edgeworth."

" Just one thing, I thought you were looking at Mr. Gavin all the time but you managed to perceive me."

" Oh, that was actually a bluff. I saw you moving but I can't actually feel the arm where my bracelet is, remember?"

" Ngoohh! A bluff? " Apollo laughed loud, and Edgeworth just looked at him. (As expected from Wright's partner.) he thought.

" So, Simon, what's going on with Mr. Edgeworth? " asked Athena in their way to the hospital. " I don't know a lot about him but he looked troubled."

" I don't know a lot about him either, but enough to know what's going on in that head of his right now."

" Okay, let me see, he doesn't want to come to the hospital but it isn't for Trucy's fault, he seems to be in good terms with Ms. Fey so his problem is with Mr. Wright himself."

" Looks like you actually can think on your own."

" Simon! Let me continue! It's not a big thing, he was invited to Trucy's show after all and knowing Mr. Wright if it were some problem he wouldn't even talk to him. It has to be something specific from Mr. Edgeworth."

Simon listened to her carefully.

" I suppose he feels responsible for the attack, or the fact we found Mr. Wright in his office, or that he was accused of hurting him."

" The first one, but it's impossible for you to know the exact reason. " Athena looked at Simon filled with curiosity, he seemed to remember something. " He's feeling guilty for failing him again and doesn't want to see him until the case is clear."

" Failing him again?"

" Yes. I don't know the details, but Edgeworth-dono is who he is thanks to Wright-dono's help back in the days, they supposedly cracked so many cases together in the past and shared a strog friendship since ages ago, they are almost as legendary as the Great Thief Yatagarasu. But in despite of the fact that Wright-dono always helped Chief Prosecutor, he couldn't help him when he lost his badge, he had no way."

" But he helped afterwards when he recovered it, just when I come to the Agency."

" Yes, but in the Chief's mind that's his greatest failure. If you see it from a psychological point you will understand."

" He wasn't there when Mr. Wright needed him the most. Now that feeling returned to him as he saw him almost murdered in his office, he blames himself for letting him down again and doesn't feel like his debt is paid until he finds the truth..."

" Indeed, he feels like he doesn't even deserve to know how is him. It's like a lock, he locks up his feelings and worries until he reaches for the end. He doesn't want to know anything if possible."

" Wow, that must be pretty hard for him..."

" He will be fine, don't be worried for him."

The pair then was called by a nurse who was supposed to guide them to Phoenix' room.

"I'm sorry, you will have to wait a little, there's already a visit on his room."

" A visit?..." Athena and Simon looked at each other before running at the room, nobody was supposed to be in there. Simon opened the door quickly, but he sure wasn't expecting being wipped right in the face.

" Argh!, V-von Karma-dono!"

" YOU FOOL! " Franziska yelled" How you dare to broke in like that?! This is a hospital you foolish fool!"

" Oh, like you aren't the one yelling, argh"" he could easily draw his sword and cut that darn whip to pieces again, but he was surprised enough to compose at least a little.

" Miles Edgeworth may respect you, but you all are just a bunch of fools…"

" Oh, it's Ms. Von Karma! I panicked…oh wait, it's Ms. Von Karma? " murmured Athena looking at a mad Blackquill, Franziska looked at them and held her whip in her hands. One that she was calm, Athena studied the room. Maya was still in there, her boss was looking almost the same as the night before, so still and fragile and with no signs of response, Trucy was asleep very close to him, holding his good hand. The previous scene waked her up.

" Oh, Thena, have you figured out something?" she asked in a sleepy tone.

" A lot, actually, I will tell you everything but first I need you to tell me if you saw a yellow envelope in your father's possession."

" A… yellow envelope? Oh yeah! He was looking at it in the morning of the incident, but I don't think it were pay bills or something like that. He smiled from ear to ear."

"He…smiled?"

" Yeah! Maybe it was a postal from Apollo, he loves these things. But he never opened it."

" What, are you sure?"

" Absolutely, why? There's something bad with that letter?"

" Someone tried to warn him of the attack, someone called Kristoph Gavin."

" Whaaat? No Mr. Gavin again…" Trucy reacted at the sole mention of the name, leaning closer to Phoenix like looking for protection, but knowing Trucy it was probably the other way around and she was the one who wanted to protect him.

" You know him?!"

" Y-yeah…I thought you too."

" She was still at Europe when all that happened, I'm kind of in the dark too, I just know what Nick told me. " commented Maya, putting her hand at Trucy's shoulder.

" Well… he kind of hates Daddy, he put him in prison and exposed all of his doings. And he killed my other Daddy."

" What? Are you serious? " Athena was more impressed by Trucy's behavior, she knew that she was strong but just talking like that about her father's murderer was pretty brave.

" He was also responsible for Phoenix Wright's disbarment and the murder of Drew Misham. " Added Franziska.

" I had no idea. You're a Prosecutor, Simon, you knew something?"

" It was just after I was sent to prison, I didn't know the details." commented him.

" So he's after my Daddy again? " her voice cracked and her face paled. She was brave, very brave, but that doesn't mean she wasn't scared. And that was a feeling everybody in the room could understand.

" No, Ms. Wright, the letter wasn't threatening him, it's the opposite, he warned your father." said Simon.

" Oh? Really?"

" But, you said your father never opened the letter and that he smiled when he saw it. He was expecting something from Mr. Gavin?"

" Huh, I don't think so, are you sure it's from Mr. Gavin?"

" Pretty sure."

Trucy stayed quiet, suddenly at a loss of words. She looked at her father and started sobbing.

(Song I recommend to listen: watch?v=z1_5PI-Slkc&index=59&list=PL6akIKaXBeU3jYgKd0SGcxReXvn9qK_de )

"You really think he will be okay? I-I mean, I know Daddy isn't so strong and… I just can't stop thinking about it, what if he just…can't hold it any longer."

(Trucy being pessimist? Oh god, this is the end of the world… ) thought Athena while trying to say something to soothe her. Long faces were all over the room, it was like her pain was present in each one of them, but no one dared to say a word.

"He isn't so strong? " for everyone's surprise it was Franziska the one who talked first. "Objection. He once broke down a locked door all by himself, not even the police figured out how he did it."

" Really? How heavy was it? " asked Trucy in wonder, her tears still making her eyes look like tiny crystals.

" Oh! I remember now, the door alone was pretty hard but it had a giant lock made of pure iron, it had to be carried by two people just to put it, and Nick just torn it up like if it was made of paper!" clarified Maya.

" The boss did that?!" Athena sounded shocked.

" Yeah! And he even crossed a rope bridge!"

" That's hardly a feature to be proud of. " muttered Blackquill, clearly amused.

" It is when you are afraid of heights like Daddy. " Trucy wiped her tears while she kept on listening.

" It is WHEN THE BRIDGE IS ON FIRE! " Maya made it sound like told by a ringmaster or something like that.

" Say whaaaat! Oh my god boss!" yelled Athena.

" The fool didn't even cross it, he fell to the freezing river and only came out with a cold. " Franziska remember it all too well, that day she was as surprised as they were right in that hospital room.

" You're joking. " the audacity of Blackquill to make such comment came rewarded by a quick lash.

" How dare you to doubt of my testimony!" yelled Franziska.

" Why he would do such thing to start with?!"

" His assistant was at the other side."

" Ms. Fey?"

" That's just crazy, why he didn't tell us all this? " Trucy giggled at Athena's burst.

" But he was young then, did you know that he passed out almost an entire day due to back pain in Kura 'in? " teased Maya.

" Aww c'mon Maya, my dad was starting to sound like a superhero!"

" That was different. " Franziska closed her eyes and crossed her arms. " The situations in which Phoenix Wright showed this sheer force had one thing in common; He did it for someone he cares about."

Everyone looked at her.

"He may be a complete fool, but when it comes to people he bets everything. He won't leave you alone, Trucy Wright, he will fight till the very end and survive."

Trucy looked at her with her eyes wet, seconds away from crying again.

"That's unusual in you, Von Karma-dono, complimenting someone, let alone Wright-dono." here comes Simon to ruin the mood. Franziska exploded.

" I'm not complimenting foolish Phoenix Wright, I told the truth and that alone!"

Then she came out of the room, almost running, Athena and Maya tried to go after her but Simon stopped them.

"She's fine, believe me." he said.

" Why did you said such things? You ruined the mood! " claimed Athena.

" She was starting to feel uncomfortable once she was done speaking, I just give her the opening she needed. " Simon answered with a little smile.

" But you were right, she's usually more whippitty-whip and less talkative…" Maya seemed to remember something. " What happened to her?"

" She's the same as always. " Simon looked at Trucy. " You only get to see her more human side, she empathizes with brave girls as a reflection of herself. She wanted to lend a hand to Trucy and there she was, but deep inside I think she truly respects Wright-dono."

Franziska was truly a piece of work, always so proud and perfect, but, as everyone, when she acts on her own is when she truly shines. Adrian Andrews and Kay Faraday can give testimony of her human side as Blackquill called it, and now, Trucy.

Thanks to her, Trucy finally smiled again…


	11. Turnabout Investigations

Apollo was used to sleep few hours or working all day and night, but right now the feeling was so different. It didn't matter how tired or in pain he was, he just couldn't sleep at all. He stayed at Edgeworth's place and even if the bed was the softest he had felt in a long time his mind couldn't stop thinking in everything. He managed to wait until the morning light started to fill his room to get up.

When he got out of his bed it was already a new day, Christmas Eve no less. He suddenly felt thirsty and put on his clothes to go and grab a glass, maybe take a pair of aspirins for his headache and return to bed before anyone else woke up. But when he exited his room he saw Edgeworth leaned over a desk, still working, Kay was asleep on the couch with Edgeworth's jacket wrapped around her.

" Morning Mr. Edgeworth."

" Oh, Mr. Justice, I thought you had already fell asleep."

" Mr. Edgeworth, it's 7 am…"

" What?!" Edgeworth looked up and saw the light at the windows, he seemed greatly surprised.

" You stayed there all night, Mr. Edgeworth? What are you doing?"

" Reviewing the case and keeping order at my Organizer, but I can't stop feeling like I missed something."

" Can I see?"

" Sure, another point of view could be useful."

Miles handed the organizer to Apollo, the evidence collected was displayed in the desk, bagged and carefully labeled. Apollo read the details of the case from the beginning since he only arrived at the middle of the investigation; Phoenix had been in the club, then was attacked at his office, he rode his bike to the Prosecutor's Offices where he was shot. A list of details where written at the bottom of all.

Why he didn't say someone about the letter or acted accordingly?

Why his bike was so wrecked and dumped in an alley?

Why the gun has Phoenix's blood but not Apollo's? How Apollo ended up at Eldoon's?

Who is the culprit and their accomplices? Why they want him dead?

Apollo looked up from the documents and saw Edgeworth right in the eyes, he looked tired as heck but also like he was expecting him to say something.

"I'm sorry Mr. Edgeworth, I don't know all that happened that day. " Edgeworth sighed.

" Like I thought, my hopes are in the detectives and Ms. Cykes' reports to throw some light in this… they're supposed to be here at 9:00."

" You should sleep a bit, Mr. Edgeworth, you look tired."

" I'm not, I still want to do a pair of things. " and then he started writing and reading like possessed by some demon. Apollo was a bit worried about his attitude and was ready to confront him.

" Mr. Edgeworth, we are stucked for now, you really need a rest. " Edgeworth closed his eyes and Apollo perceived that the hand that was holding his pen was shaking, he was anxious and somehow nervous.

" What's wrong, Mr. Edgeworth, you're shaking. " He put down his pen and his glasses, covering his face with a hand. " Mr. Wright is important to all of us but, you look so beaten and anxious, something happens to him?"

Edgeworth looked at Kay, who was still out like a light, then at his clock and finally back at the sheet of paper in front of him.

" Wright is worse than we leave the girls know. He's hurt pretty bad and there are very little chances for him to survive… his heart stopped once at some point during the procedures and even now he need some machines to keep himself alive…he's dying, Mr. Justice, he could die at any moment. I can't afford to be resting when he's fighting so hard for his life, I just can't…" he look back at Apollo, determination filling his eyes but also a deep worry and sadness were visible.

" Why don't tell them the truth?" asked Apollo.

Why, indeed. For Edgeworth there's nothing as important as the truth, also he never was an emotional man and his life was guided only by facts, totally opposite from Wright who always wore his heart in his sleeve. Right now the only fact that Miles has clear is that his best friend may as well be in his deathbed. The girls didn't deserve to know it?

No, it wasn't it. He looked at Kay and remembered the young girl so full of joy and dreams that joined him so many years ago, he had never truly understood the value of the friendship between Maya and Phoenix until he met Kay, it's nice to have someone by your side, someone trusty, loyal and cheerful like the two girls. Miles would do anything to see Kay happy as well as Phoenix would the same for any of the young girls by his side. Now it's his duty to do it for him, he can't let them down.

"Maya and Trucy were the ones who found Wright, they were both crying even when I told them that he was still alive. If I tell them the reality they will suffer even before anything happens. I have to keep their spirits high for Wright's and their own sake, I think is the better way to us if we want to pull through this and find the truth."

Apollo only had seen Edgeworth a couple of times but had always seen him like a cold and relentless man, now that he's showing his true colors it's easy to understand why Mr. Wright sees an ally and a very dear friend in him.

" I understand, I won't say a word either, but if you insist in keeping yourself so pressed let me at least bring you something for breakfast. Coffee or tea? I can make some pancakes if you let me."

" With just one arm?"

" I'm more used to it than you think, Trucy always holds to my arm like a koala."

Edgeworth suddenly found the scene playing at his head very touching, he could imagine the two cooking together their pancakes and teasing each other just like in the courtrooms. But then he wondered what could have happened to them to end up at the kitchen cooking breakfast together, rehearsals? Apollo stayed at Wright's home? They made pancakes in their office? Oh, he's overthinking things again. Edgeworth was so used to think about every nook and cranny during a case that this constantly happened in his every day.

"You can make the pancakes if you want but I'm fine with tea."

Apollo nodded and went to the kitchen. As soon as the sweet smell of the pancakes filled the house Kay woke up.

" Oh, Mr. Edgeworth, what's that heavenly smell?" she asked.

" Mr. Justice is making breakfast, you should go and help him".

" Right away!"

He didn't spend much time alone thanks to Athena and Simon's arrival, they immediately shared their discoveries at him, adding more pieces to the puzzle.

" He…smiled at the letter?"

" That's what Trucy assures. We gave the letter to Ema, let's hope she find something."

" I'm right here and let me tell you, embrace yourselves. " Ema came with Gumshoe just in time.

" Oh, are you making pancakes Mr. Edgeworth? It's been ages since I had some of these!" said Gumshoe, excited as a child.

" Why are you looking at me like I have to give you some sort of permission? Go and join them if you want to, Detective! " growled Edgeworth.

" Yes Sir! Thank you Sir! " Gumshoe ran away.

" You should eat something too." recommended Edgeworth.

" We're fine, Mr. Edgeworth, we had something before coming here, what about you, Ema?" answered Athena.

" I won't say no to a coffee, I'll be back in a second."

Edgeworth then prepared a bigger place for them to sit a review the case together. Once everybody had taken their sit Ema started.

"First, the weapon. The prints are indeed from Mr. Justice but the weird position made you deduce that he fought someone for it, but I double checked and there's only Mr. Wright's blood as well as some of his own prints."

" Wright's prints? Where?"

" That's the weirdest part, they are all over the gun, he may have fought his assailant too."

" But we still have the fact that Mr. Justice blood isn't there."

" That's the worst part, I examined the ballistic marks and they don't match up. The bullet at Apollo's shoulder belonged to another gun. The bullets that matched this gun were the one that was at Charley's pot and the one we found in the hall of your office, Mr. Edgeworth."

" W-WHAT! " Edgeworth looked at the results without giving credit to what he had just heard. " If this isn't the weapon that shot at Mr. Justice, then why are his fingerprints on it?"

" We have a period of time in which nobody knows what happened, they could have planted them. " proposed Athena. " Also, we now know that the culprit did chase Mr. Wright from the Agency to the offices, one bullet was shot at Charley and the other at Mr. Wright, even if that bullet is useless the blood over it only could have come in that moment. We are missing two guns, the one that shot Apollo and the one fired at Mr. Edgeworth's door."

" They hide them for some reason, it's imperative for us to find them. " Miles scribbled down a few notes.

" So, we can assume that there were only two assailants but three different guns? " asked Blackquill.

" That's what the evidence show us, one of them chased Wright and probably the other one moved Apollo. " answered Edgeworth.

" Okay now, the letter. The writing of the sheet matches with Kristoph Gavin's but the bloody fingerprints is what still was dubious …" Ema pulled out the letter and handed it to Edgeworth" the prints are confirmed to be Mr. Wright's but the blood isn't his, it's Apollo's."

" Mr. Justice's blood? But how? Wright was the one injured over the desk."

" That's what I found weird, back in the investigation I analyzed the blood that was in the desk and it was Mr. Wright's, but only a tiny drop it's his, the rest of the blood in the drawer and letter its Apollo's."

" So Wright couldn't be badly injured if only a drop of his blood it's in there. But what doesn't make sense is that he left his prints in the letter with Mr. Justice's blood… if the two assailants were there, Wright and Mr. Justice were both injured but Wright managed to escape, I can't see a moment in which he could have touched Mr. Justice and then the letter…" wondered Edgeworth.

" So one of our theories must be wrong or the evidence itself is false. We don't know for sure if there was somebody else at the office before us, I see that a little farfetched but we must consider every possibility. " Simon examined the letter carefully as he talked. Edgeworth seemed to be struggling with something.

" We really are stuck, the evidence we have right now can't confirm any of our theories. " said Edgeworth touching his temple.

" We need to investigate further. " proposed Athena.

" It's no use, we have already checked every suspicious looking nook and cranny, even with Little Thief but this is all we got…" Kay seemed down, she looked at Edgeworth who was deep in thought.

" No, what we have to do now is turn our thinking around." Apollo put his pointer finger on his forehead like all the times he thinks deeply about something. " If the evidence doesn't tell us anything new we should then look for our suspects, that way we may have a new lead. What's more, I think we haven't finished examining that letter."

" The letter? What do you want to examine?" asked Ema.

" The writing in the envelope. Mr. Gavin said he didn't put the letter on it and I can see the way Mr. Wright's name it's written it's different from the writing on the letter itself." clarified Apollo.

" Wow, you're right Apollo. I'm taking this to the lab right away, I'll call you if I find something."

" Wait Ms. Skye. " the strong voice of Simon startled her and make her stop immediately. He got up from his seat. " I will escort you to your car."

" Oh, I'm fine."

" I didn't ask. " Simon opened the door for her, she looked at him with a spout almost childish and left the apartment with him. Everybody at the table suddenly fell silent.

" Detective Gumshoe, you have the thing I requested from you? " asked Edgeworth catching Gumshoe off guard.

" Oh, uhh… yeah! I have it right here, sir! " the detective opened his old backpack and handed him a folder. " By the way, Mr. Edgeworth, have you seen Missile? He went missing since yesterday… I'm really worried…"

" The dog? He was with us at the office didn't he?"

" Yeah but he went out at some point, I thought he would come back soon but he never appeared."

" I'm afraid I can't afford looking for him right now, Detective."

" Ow…I know Sir, but please tell me if you see him."

Edgeworth opened the folder and read it quickly, his eyes agape as he realized just how bad the things really were.

"What's wrong, Mr. Edgeworth? You look pale…" observed Kay. He put the papers on the table.

" This is the list of prison inmates that escaped some days ago. Our suspects can be on this list."

" So, we must look into the ones who would have a grudge against Mr. Wright, could you think of somebody within the list?"

" Everyone…"


	12. Turnabout Enconters

Outside of Edgeworth's house, Blackquill walked side by side with Ema, his tall and strong figure was remarked by his long black coat and the hawk on his shoulder only made him look scarier, or that's what suddenly passed on Ema's head, she had never worked under him before and he gave her chills.

"So, Ms. Skye, what the heck you think you're doing? "she was startled by his voice, but when he spoke with such force she thought for sure that he had read her mind.

"W-what are you talking about?"

"What's you excuse, huh? This can be one of the biggest cases seen in this country and you're acting like it's just a joke, everything I heard of you were mere lies? You're not the Ace Forensic everybody talks about?"

Ema had never talked to Blackquill before and he had never talked to her before but oh, he would know her…

"Excuse me! "she yelled, Blackquill flinched at her sudden reaction, he didn't expect such behavior. "I don't know what's your problem or what are you talking about, but if you're going to insult my work then you're terribly done, I worked so hard to being in the place I am right now and I can't let myself acting like it's just a joke, Mr. Wright, the first person who believed in me unconditionally, is the victim on this case, I can't be more interested in find justice even if I want to! And then you came here and thought you could bend me at your will, that's the Twisted Samurai way? You're not even the Prosecutor on charge, know your place you Birdman!"

Blackquill really was surprised, she had seen through his tricks and kicked them. With another person that was enough to drive them into a corner and make them speak, but Ema just exploded and confronted him. He kept the best poker face he was able to make, tricks won't work anymore, just the cold and straight truth.

"You can't fool me; you're giving incomplete reports." He said, composing himself.

"How so?"

"In the trial you specified that only Mr. Justice's prints were found in the gun, then a moment ago you said Mr. Wright's prints were also in there. You're hiding information at your convenience…"

Ema opened her mouth to refute but then stayed silent and put her finger at her chin in thought.

"Y-you're right! But I didn't make that reports! Or at least the first, I just said what they said!"

Suddenly, a realization came to Simon's mind.

"The forensic chief. "

"But that makes no sense, I AM the forensic chief, the first report was a preliminary one made by the guys in the lab, I approved it to be used in court because nothing seemed amiss. "

"Somebody in the lab could have modified it?"

"I don't think so, they are really reliable guys and had never failed before. If somebody changed the report it must have been in the lapse between the lab guys sending the report and I receiving it."

"I think that's worth investigating Ms. Skye, whoever changed it must have a reason to. They hide the presence of Mr. Wright's prints and the absence of Mr. Justice's blood."

"Let's get to the bottom of this, Mr. Blackquill!"

\- Morgan Fey

\- Matt Engarde (dead)

\- Furio Tigre

\- Iris

\- Simon Keyes

\- The Phantom

These names were remarked in the list lying in Edgeworth's hands, of all the prisoners enlisted in there they were the ones who were related to Wright. Edgeworth stared at a name in particular; Simon Keyes, said man didn't even know Wright but Miles sent him to prison and was a man of admirable intellect but also one really dangerous, if he planned some sort of vengeance against him there was a good probability that Wright ended up being a collateral victim. He had decided to investigate him first, Kay and Gumshoe went with him.

Meanwhile, the Phantom's mention shook Apollo and Athena's minds badly, they really didn't want to have anything to do with him, however, if he wanted he could have attacked Mr. Wright like this for exposing him. His presence gave the use of a gun and the culprit's unique way to escape a whole new meaning. They would investigate him.

And so, the search for the culprit began.

"You okay Apollo? You seem a bit pale."

"I'm fine."

"You're not"

Apollo looked at Widget like accusing it, but Athena seemed to ignore his glance and handed him a bottle of water.

"You should take it easy, I mean, you got shot just two days ago. "

"I know… it's just, I can't let down Mr. Wright, not after…all."

Athena sat him in a bench, joining him by putting an arm on his shoulder.

"I feel the same, I…can't stop thinking in the moment we found him. After all the cases we have seen, I saw him lying on the floor and I thought for sure that he was gone, and suddenly it hurt like I had lost something big in my heart. I can't even imagine how Trucy felt…"

"Oh god, Trucy…I have to go and see her!"

Athena felt a bit wounded, she was pouring her heart into her talk with Apollo and he just changed the topic. He should have noticed something because he suddenly turned red in shame.

"I'm sorry Thena! It seemed like I just discarded your feelings like nothing but that's not it! I really was listening but I'm not so good with chats or feelings forgive me!"

Athena chuckled.

"It's okay Apollo, I know you. I just wanted somebody to listen."

"I understand your feelings; I think I felt the same when I saw the office again…"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I think we really care about him. After all we went through I guess it's inevitable. You think we can visit him?"

"Sure, we don't even know how to begin our search anyway" Athena suddenly tensed up, clenching her hands and teeth. "You think he…. The Phantom…."

"If he did it, he better run, I…can't just let him get away from this. We stopped him once and we can do it again."

"So that's how it will be…" answered an unknown voice right from behind them, each one felt something pressed against their skulls, they didn't need to look to know what it was. "It seems to be a place between you, I will take it if you don't mind. "the man sat where he said and discretely kept pointing the guns at Apollo and Athena now pressing the pair against their ribs. Now that he was close it was easy to identify, it seemed like an old man with stitches in his face, he was wearing an elegant coat with the symbol of a shell decorating it. His face seemed happy somehow.

"W-who are you? "asked Athena.

"You can relax, I won't hurt you, however I have to assure that you stay quiet and obey. I'm Shelly the Killer, and I'm here in The Phantom's place."

"What did you say? You know the Phantom?" said Apollo.

"Yes, he hired me."

"A killer hiring an assassin?"

"He isn't the man you knew. After the trial he discovered that he was nothing, he was just a dot in this world and suffered a severe crisis. He can't live with himself anymore."

Athena and Apollo suddenly found themselves thinking…were they supposed to feel good knowing that the man who bring such pain to their lives was suffering like that? Was it right? Was it, justice?

No. Athena, who knows feelings better than anyone, doesn't have the heart to wish pain upon nobody, not even the Phantom.

Yes. It was justice. But for Apollo, he just holds his feelings enough to at least respect his suffering. He just wishes none of that would happened.

"So, he's seeking vengeance? "asked Apollo, De Killer moved his head slowly.

No, he's not. He escaped from prison and doesn't plan to come back, he wants a life of his own. But the two of you could interfere with his wishes."

"Hold it! You told us you had no reason to hurt us!"

"And I am a man true to his word. "De Killer put his guns and hands inside of the pockets of his coat. "You're in charge of Mr. Wright's murder, isn't it? I have a debt with that man for showing me the truth so many years ago, I want to help."

"How can we trust you? You're an assassin!"

"I have some information for you. Take it or leave it:

The plan was already being carried away since the prison break by an unknown master mind and three inmates. However, one inmate was seen totally somewhere else, this photo shows the moment she takes away a lonely girl in the airport and then vanishes. She's still here, waiting for the perfect moment to escape. The girl taken responds to Pearl Fey, and the inmate it's said to be her mother."

De Killer handed the photo to Athena quickly.

"Wait, hold it, Pearly? Are you saying that she's in danger? "asked Athena, now scared.

"The inmate is her mother Athena; I don't think she would do something bad to her." Reassured Apollo.

"Not precisely bad Apollo, but Mr. Wright told me once that she's obsessed with control, she tried to murder Maya twice…"

"Oh no, then we need to find Pearls now! Mr. De Killer, I trust you are saying the truth."

"I swear. Just find the true killer, Mr. Justice, and my debt will be cleared."

"Just…one thing."

"Yes?"

"You said killer just now, and before you said Mr. Wright's murder, why?"

"For the lawyer in charge you seem pretty uninformed. Here."

De Killer gave Apollo a newspaper and right there, in the very first page, it read: "The Phoenix falls. Phoenix Wright, famous attorney, was murdered the night of the 23 in the Chief's Prosecutor Office."

The fifth cup. He had drunk five cups before even midday, Edgeworth was a tea person, however, he was drinking coffee to keep himself awake and alert while looking at old files from various cases in the police department. The name of Simon Keyes brings him so many memories and incidents, he couldn't afford to let him go wild.

Gumshoe was looking for him with a patrol while Miles tried to find where he could be hiding based on his behavior.

"What about the park?" asked Gumshoe.

"Who with even some mental faculties would hide in a park, detective?"

"Uhm, I don't know sir…I was just wondering."

"Wait, you're thinking about the dog aren't you?"

"Ow, how did you know sir? I swear I'm really looking for Simon but also I'm keeping an eye for Missile."

"Please, focus on the issue at hand Detective…"

"Okay sir…"

"Hey Mr. Edgeworth, don't you think this is too suspicious? "that was Kay, who was also patrolling.

"Exactly which part Kay?"

"I sent you the records of the prison. It's hard to see exactly what was happening thanks to the riot, it's impossible to know when our inmates escaped. However, the individual cameras recorded all the prisoners in their cells before lunch time, all except one… Mr. Keyes."

"What?! You're right! "Edgeworth looked at the camera without believing it.

"Mr. Edgeworth, are you all right? You seem a bit… off" asked Kay, worried.

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Yeah, you are a little absent, that's not like you at all." commented Gumshoe.

"I'm fine, just a little tired that's all…"

"You should take a nap, rest a little."

"No, I can't rest until this case is solved, don't worry about me. "a brief silence was present until Edgeworth cleared his throat" so, Mr. Keyes was already absent, he wasn't part of the riot, maybe he helped but never took part of the plan at all."

"But he is missing…"

"I will go visit the prison right now. There's a good possibility that he's still in there hiding."

Edgeworth prepared his organizer and took everything to his car, but the instant he put his belt on a sudden feeling invaded him, like if something was amiss or terribly wrong.

"So, we see again, Mr. Edgeworth."

As Miles turned his head to see, the tip of a knife menaced to pierce his side.

"Don't call for help of any sort, you hear me? Sit still and listen, Prosecutor…"

But Edgeworth remained calm, he wasn't afraid of criminals.

"Mr. Keyes, I was in my way to find you, you saved me a lot of time."

"Shut up. I'm not here to hear your babbling, you will do exactly as I say. "Keyes handed a paper to Edgeworth with a direction that seemed written in a hurry. "Drive to this location, now!"

A quick look at the direction made Edgeworth feel curious, he knew Simon Keyes wouldn't hurt him, he was a master mind, not a killer, but he could do unexpected things under pressure. So, Edgeworth decided not to pull him to something both of them would regret and drove.

Keyes stayed silent, but somehow, he also seemed nervous. Usually when he wasn't acting like a coward he was calm and a bit eccentric, Edgeworth tried not to look suspicious while trying to deduce his intentions.

"I didn't shoot Phoenix Wright, Prosecutor, quit that piercing gaze of yours if you want to find the true culprit."

"What? You know who was the shooter? No, this is another of your traps, I won't believe a word of yours…"

"Heh, so you learned your lesson, huh? But think a little, what do I gain if I lie to you?"

"…"

"You know, right? Everything I do is always for my own sake, I will use you, so I don't have a reason to lie."

"I refuse."

"Oh, but you won't. I need you to do something for me, it's a piece of cake for someone like you, I will even give you a lead for your own investigation that you can't lose. You will see, I'm doing a favor to you, actually."

"What are you talking about? I owe you nothing and I will never. Besides, why would you help me?"

"Because it's part of something bigger. You will see."

"Why are you telling me all of this? It's not like you at all Mr. Keyes."

"Because there is no way you could know what will happen. "Simon pointed his knife at Edgeworth's neck. "Stop, now. "

They were in front of an alley, dark and cold even in the midday. Keyes kept an eye on Edgeworth as he exited his car and then guided him toward the alley, it was so quiet that their steps echoed in the walls, they entered a door that seemed forced but Edgeworth noticed that Keyes was wearing leather gloves, he was trying to obtain as much information as possible when the sudden smell interrupted his thoughts.

The scenes of the horrible night when he found Wright repeated over and over again in his head and when he cleared his mind enough to ignore the smell of blood he finally looked at his surroundings and saw the body in the floor. But a shiver went through his entire body when he recognized the long black hair and strange purple clothes.

"No…please no…"


	13. Fateful Turnabout

Edgeworth felt like he was about to pass out, he usually had nerves of steel but he had never thought he would have to see this. First Phoenix and then Maya?

No, it couldn't be. Miles forced himself to calm down, think and look carefully. Maya had been in the hospital the entire day; she hasn't left Wright's side since the day before. Edgeworth then reached for the body and looked closer, the clothes were almost the same as Maya's at first sight, but when he looked at the victim's face he couldn't help but to feel relief in his heart.

"Iris…How in the world? "the brief relief disappeared, he had met the girl in a case so many years ago, a bizarre case to say the least where even he found himself in the defense bench. But now that he thinks about it, Wright really cared about that girl, they shared a lot of things in the past and he always visited her in prison. It was hard to look at her now. – "You…you killed her?"

"I would not have brought you if I had done it, don't you think?"

"Then what's your reason? "

"I won't tell you, but I need you to find the culprit."

"I will solve this case because it's my job, but right now I have my hands full."

"Oh, but you will. Her murder is connected to your case, she sent the letter to Mr. Wright. "

"The…letter? How did you know about the letter?"

"I have my ways, don't ask that many questions, know your place Prosecutor!"

"I won't trust you"

"It isn't me who you don't have to trust, the defense lawyers you're currently working with are not capable enough to handle this case, don't you think?"

But to Keyes' surprise, Edgeworth didn't say a word, he almost didn't even react at all. Keyes then realized…

"Oh, but I didn't even have to warn you…didn't I?"

Before Edgeworth opened his mouth to reply his cellphone started to ring, he took the call under Keyes intimidating glare.

"Detective Skye…"

"Mr. Edgeworth! Where are you?! Red Lawyer is freaking out trying to locate you!"

"Red Lawyer?"

"Apollo, Mr. Justice! It doesn't matter, I have two important news to you. First, the results of the analysis on the letter are ready, we identified the handwriting and it belongs to a girl in prison named Iris. "Edgeworth felt a shiver running through his spine, he suddenly felt desperate and frustrated as he looked at the body of the girl. "She's currently missing. A report says that— "

"Iris is dead. I need you to come at my location immediately Ms. Skye."

"W-what?! Mr. Edgeworth… are you all right?"

"Yes, I just found her body."

"That's horrible! I'm on my way! "Edgeworth was about to hang when he heard movement" Oh, wait Mr. Edgeworth. The second reason I called you it's because of Apollo, he asked me to tell you to call him, it's extremely important."

"I will, thank you Ms. Skye."

He put his phone on his jacket again and looked at Keyes.

"I know she sent the letter specifically to Wright, but she didn't write it. Explain everything you know if you want me to find out the killer..."

"You already know what I know, I can't tell you more. Now, I'm going, but know that I will watch you closely, I will wait for your report at 9 in the lake… don't you dare to disobey me or you will never find the truth due to a sudden lack of brains when I blow your head up!"

And Keyes ran away, Edgeworth was about to chase him but it would be a bad idea being defenseless against his knife. Instead, he quickly pulled out his phone again and called Apollo.

"Mr. Edgeworth! Oh my god finally, are you okay?"

"Yes, what's wrong Mr. Justice, you sound nervous."

"I need an explanation right now; why is Mr. Wright's case being carried away as a murder? He…he's not dead, right?"

Edgeworth felt numb and suddenly fell in a loss of words. He was so emotional lately, he blames the coffee but the situation doesn't help a bit.

"As a murder? That's impossible, the trial clearly was about an assault."

"But the entire media it's treating it like a murder! I saw the newspapers and even the internet, everyone talks about Mr. Wright being murdered at your office."

"I haven't seen anything…"

"You're the Prosecutor in charge, right? I thought you knew something..."

The Prosecutor in charge, with that the answer came right to his mind. He wasn't the first Prosecutor.

"I know who can answer your questions. I will call her and then contact you later."

"Wait Mr. Edgeworth! That's not all, we discovered that Pearl Fey is missing, she was taken by her mother who is currently one of the prison inmates that escaped, the last place where they were seen was the train station, what do we do?"

"Pearl? Ms. Fey's cousin? Don't try anything yet, I will send somebody to help you."

"Thanks Mr. Edgeworth, be careful."

Ema and Simon arrived to the scene and started working immediately, Edgeworth was worried about what Apollo said and give priority to the call he had to do.

"Von Karma speaking."

"Franziska, why did you tell the media this was a murder? You lied to everyone!"

"Don't talk like that to me you fool! "then she sighed and answered more calmly" Listen well, Miles Edgeworth, the real culprit is still out there. If I had told the truth and revealed that Phoenix Wright was still alive his assailant would surely come back and finish the job, we can't afford that. Have you listened to the doctors? They said— "

"Don't talk about it in front of the girls, I beg you, if you have information for me please leave the room…"

Franziska couldn't avoid feeling mad at his interruption, but his petition was very clear and reasonable, she kept quiet until Maya and Trucy were out of sight. She would whip Edgeworth later.

"It's bad, Miles Edgeworth, he isn't responding to anything. Upon further examination, the doctors think there may be severe damage to his head and back, but they can't know for sure until he wakes up…" suddenly, Miles could swear that he heard Franziska's voice crack, even if only for a second. "If he ever wakes up, they think it's almost impossible, they give him two days at most...we may be dealing with a murder after all, Miles Edgeworth…"

But Edgeworth stayed in silence, his fist was closing strongly at first until he sighed and closed his eyes.

"Franziska, could you please call Agent Lang? Pearl Fey is missing and Mr. Justice wants to locate her."

"W-what? Wait, you changed completely the conversation, you're not worried about that fool anymore?"

"There…there is nothing we can do for him, it's no use to drown on this and leave everything floating away. We had work to do, Franziska."

"I didn't expect you to be so cold with Phoenix Wright, but I understand, I will contact Agent Lang."

"Thank you, Franziska"

Edgeworth then approached the crime scene, Ema had already a report for him.

"The victim died from blood loss after she was shot in the chest. The estimated time of death is about 4 or 5 hours ago, there are no signs of a previous fight and I had to say that the clothes she is wearing are pretty weird." She reported.

"You seem touched Mr. Edgeworth, you know the victim? "asked Blackquill very convinced, he didn't need the answer.

"Yes. She was… close to Wright. Her name is Iris." Answered Edgeworth.

"No way! The girl that wrote the letter?!"

"It seems that we hit a dead end here, again." Said Blackquill.

"Not quite Mr. Blackquill, she gets the letter from Mr. Gavin at some point and there's a possibility that she was killed because of that. We have to find as much information as we can from this crime scene."

"How did you find her? It's a hidden place…"

"I was driving and then you called, I parked and walked a little as I was talking, I found her by accident. I wish I had found her earlier…"

"Don't torture yourself Mr. Edgeworth, it's not your fault. "

"Now all we can do is find her killer."

"Wait a minute, where is the forensic team? Why just you two arrived?" asked Edgeworth, he hadn't noticed it until that moment.

Ema and Simon looked at each other, Edgeworth noticed that Simon did a strange motion, like if he wanted to reach his sword, while looking around at every corner.

"We are being watched Chief, someone is keeping tracks of all or movements and obstructing our way." Answered Blackquill.

"What? How are you so sure?"

"Do you remember your trial? Someone had hidden important photos from the investigation, then Ms. Skye and I discovered some differences between the forensic reports used in your trial and the definitive ones and decided to investigate."

"What did you find?"

"Nothing. Is a smart one, we won't find anything if we don't know what are we looking for."

"Explain yourself."

"Whoever it is erased their tracks, there is nothing to know who it is, however, there are signs of them concealing their presence. A police uniform is missing, some data records are damaged…and everything happens just before we came looking for a clue."

"When I called you was to see you somewhere and tell you, but when yourself asked me to come it was easier. We took every precaution to come here." Commented Ema.

Edgeworth stayed silence, looking at the clear worry shown in Ema's face.

"So, we are alone in this Chief. We must work with what we have for now, we can only trust our team, no one else."

"Understood. Now, you discovered something in this crime scene, Mr. Blackquill?"

"It's the perfect place for a crime, there are no windows, no people around. Also, there's again no clue of who shot her, she didn't fight back so it must have been an unexpected movement."

"Or she was attacked from above, the shot was at point blank?"

"I don't know sir. I haven't checked her so good."

"Here Mr. Blackquill, help me turn her around…"

When they checked on her, they not only discovered the signs of a close shot, confirming Simon's theory, but also a thin paper come out of her sleeve. Edgeworth read the tiny and cute looking handwriting:

Mr. Edgeworth

I know where they're hiding, they are tracking my movements so I can't tell you directly, that's why I'm sending you this letter.

They're at the attic of the Borscht Club.

Sorry if I can't tell you more, please, don't let them go free, take care of Phoenix, I'm begging you.

Iris

He looked at the girl and felt genuinely frustrated, she took the risk and failed, she was looking for his help when she was killed…

Edgeworth closed his fist and swore that her death wouldn't be in vain…

"I'm going to the Borscht Club." Edgeworth stated firmly.

"You alone? It's very dangerous Mr. Edgeworth! "yelled Ema

"I can't trust the police. I will call Detective Gumshoe and Kay. We may be enough."

"You don't know how many of them are."

"I'll proceed with caution; I won't do anything if we cannot win."

"I'm coming with you."

"No, I need you two here, investigate all you can, we must find the culprit. Whoever killed her was because of what she knew, someone who didn't wanted us to know this. I'm trusting this to you."

"Watch your back Mr. Edgeworth. We will see you later."

Edgeworth nodded and went to his car almost running. Keyes was right after all…

"Agent Lang speaking, I'm talking to Mr. Justice?"

"Yes. You're the agent Mr. Edgeworth sent?"

"Yes, I owe him a favor. I have news for you, we found the girl."

"W-what? Already?!"

"It wasn't so hard; she gave herself up to the police."

"Why? She is the victim."

"We don't know; she doesn't want to say a word. Come at the station please, Lang Zi says: Keep your pups close and they will never walk the wrong path."

"She's not a pup but whatever, we're coming right now. Thanks Agent Lang"

Apollo and Athena arrived at the station very quickly, even Lang was surprised. However, when they meet Pearls she immediately ran to hug Athena, crying aloud.

"Hey Pearly, calm down, we're here, you're safe now…" Athena tried to calm her.

"Ms. Thena…I'm so sorry!"

"You didn't do anything wrong, everything is fine now."

"N-no…Mr. Nick… *sob* oh Mr. Nick, he-he's dead…" the poor girl could barely talk, Athena could hear her heart suffering and wanted to cry as well.

"Hey, Pearls, listen to me, I will tell you a secret. "Apollo leaned closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Mr. Wright isn't dead, he's at the hospital, we can go and see him if you want. "

"B-but the man…told me that *sob* I had shot him and he— "

"Wait wait Pearls, no no, that's impossible, whoever told you that was lying." under normal circumstances Apollo would panic at a sudden confession like that, but he tended to be softer with kids and he focused all his being into remain calm. Still, he wasn't as good with kids as Phoenix was, the man had a special talent for dealing with them. Apollo thought that it was because of Trucy, but Maya says that he was like that even before meeting Trucy.

"B-but I can't remember what I did at that time… *sob*"

Apollo and Athena took Pearl to a chair, she didn't want to let Athena's arm go.

"I got proof that shows that you didn't do anything" he showed her the photos of the infiltrated police and the man dressed like Edgeworth. Pearl calmed down as her worries vanished away. "Most importantly, you would never hurt him, he's like a father to you, isn't he? "Pearl nodded" You see? You have nothing to do with it, you are fine."

Pearls suddenly jumped from her seat and hugged Apollo.

"Thank you Mr. Apollo…I was so scared…"

"You're welcome Pearls. That's why you came to the police?"

"Yeah…"

"Who was the man who told you that?"

"I don't know. "

*KLANG! * chains and five red locks appeared in front of the young girl.

"Oh no, not you Pearls…" lamented Athena.

"How many locks? "asked Apollo to Athena, remembering his own.

"Five…"

"Pearls…please, you can trust us, there's nothing to be afraid of, try not to hide anything..."

"H-how do you know?"

"A little magic trick."

"Magic trick? "but then Pearls realized and, as soon as she knew what they were referring to, all of her locks trembled at once. "Oh…don't tell me that you have Mr. Nick's Magatama…"

The pair of lawyers were very surprised, the magatama's reasons and origins were still a mystery to them but Pearls recognized it in an instant. Athena took it out of her pocket and showed it to her, Pearls sobbed and her tears shined green reflecting the soft light of the magatama, she received it in her palms.

"Mr. Nick…gave it to you?"

"He trusted it to us, Ms. Fey said that he had never separated from it before and that it's an object he always keeps close to his heart, right next to his badge in his inner pocket."

Pearls looked at it with so much love in her eyes, a sort of love that was shaped after so many years of spending time with those who loved her, a pure love for her cousin and a kind man in blue who refused to leave them alone, who supported her and taught her so many things. She still remembers the first time she filled the magatama with power in front of a very sceptic but determined Phoenix, she remembers that that day her life changed for good, there were a couple of horrible things too but, at the end of the day, she would always find a place in the caring arms of Maya and Phoenix.

Pearls closed her palms and hugged the tiny magatama, it glowed stronger.

"If Mr. Nick trusts you…" her locks trembled again, now they looked like they were about to explode. "then I will trust you and help you with all my heart!"

All at once, the red locks disappeared, the chains vanished and the eyes of the young girl glowed with sheer determination.

Athena and Apollo haven't been this happier since all of this began, but now their smiles couldn't be wider…


	14. Turnabout

**December 24, 8:00 pm**

 **Cafeteria**

 **Police Station**

"I can't remember his name, but it was a man, tall and rude, he told me that my memories are failing and I had shot Mr. Nick, I was so scared that I ran away, after hours I decided to give myself up to the police." Related Pearl.

"What were you doing with that man?" asked Apollo.

"He suddenly appeared, I was with my mom just minutes before, but then she said that we had to split up and the man appeared right after."

"Your mom, Morgan Fey, right?"

"Yes, I haven't see her in so much time, I was really happy. She said that we needed to move out but it seems that she changed her mind."

"So, she didn't tell you where she went."

"No, she just said "I will see you later""

Apollo and Athena had been listening to Pearls for a while, she was still holding the magatama in one hand while the other held a milkshake.

"I will contact Ms. Von Karma and tell her the news. You're free to go pups." Said the mysterious wolf-like agent who had been listening to them.

"Are you Shi Long Lang from Zheng Fa, by any chance? "asked Apollo.

"Oh, yes! What a lack of manners of my part, here, take my card."

"Oh, thank you. Lemme see if I have one of my own uhh…oh, yeah, here."

"Apollo Justice! Why Ms. Von Karma didn't tell me about this? It's a pleasure to meet you at last!"

"Wait, you two knew each other?" asked Athena very intrigued.

"Not directly, Zheng Fa and Kura 'in are allies and they share a lot of things and contracts. Agent Lang is a very known person in both countries."

"Mr. Justice is popular as well, he handles most of the politics in Kura 'in and it's known to be the right hand of Queen Rayfa."

"Wow Apollo! You're quite the celebrity! "cheered Athena.

"Can I have your autograph? "asked Pearls holding her hands together. Apollo looked so embarrassed.

"Ohhh c'mon girls, I'm just the same old Polly…" by saying his nickname he remembered the young magician girl he has yet to meet. "Oh! Let's go to the hospital, I'd like to see how Trucy is doing."

"Oh right, adios Mr. Lang!" said Athena.

The young lawyers made their way to the hospital faster than they expected, but when they arrived something seemed fishy. The receptionist stared at Apollo for a while.

"What are you doing here Mr. Justice?" asked the young lady.

"I what? How do you know my name?" Apollo felt surprised.

"Y-you entered just a moment ago, here, I even registered you."

"What the…"

"Ms. Cykes, are you okay?"

Apollo looked at Athena, she was suddenly so pale, she was shaking and her eyes were wide open. Apollo felt worried, but then he knew exactly what was happening in Athena's mind when she unconsciously touched her earring.

"Phantom!"

(Song I recommend to listen: watch?v=zL678y9iCBM&index=49&list=PL6akIKaXBeU3jYgKd0SGcxReXvn9qK_de)

Two minutes before.

Phoenix's room was calm, his companions tried to cheer themselves a little by playing poker. Maya was good enough, but was no rival to Trucy.

"That's not fair, Nick taught you." Groaned Maya.

"Nope, I learned on my own." Said Trucy, giggling.

"By watching him play."

"I TAUGHT HIM how to play."

"That fool knows how to play poker? That's nonsense. "Oh yeah, after an hour of Trucy begging her Franziska joined the game.

"He has been invict for almost 10 years."

"What? As soon as he wakes up I will teach him how to play real poker."

"But you have lost each one of the rounds we have played."

"I'm letting you win."

They were interrupted by someone entering the room, said man locked the door discreetly.

"Polly!" yelled Trucy. She was so happy that she jumped and threw all her cards away, hugging Apollo very tightly. But then, Apollo held her the way a delinquent holds a hostage and he pulled out a gun with his apparently wounded arm and pointed at the girls.

"Keep quiet or I will kill her!" he yelled. His voice…even if it sounded so alike there was a pure hate resounding in it.

"Apollo! What are you doing?!" yelled Maya.

"P-Polly?..." Trucy, who was so happy just minutes ago, was now terrified. Franziska clenched her teeth in impotence as she watched Apollo now pointing at Phoenix, but Maya put herself between the gun and her beloved Nick.

"Move." Muttered "Apollo".

"No! Why are you doing this? He's your mentor!"

"I said move! Or I will shoot the both of you!"

But Maya refused. And then Apollo pulled the trigger and the loud sound of the shot filled the room with its deadly warning.

Athena froze in her place but Apollo, filled with an immeasurable fear, ran as fast as he could to the room that the receptionist had showed him in the report.

He saw The Phantom dressed as him holding Trucy and pointing at Maya who was trying to protect Phoenix. Apollo tried to force the door without success and then charged against it, his body suddenly filled with a strong pain coming from his shoulder and arm that were previously numb and he was forced to drop to the floor.

"N-no…Trucy, Mr. Wright!" he murmured. He tried to move to no avail, but then he saw Athena running at his way with a fire extinguisher in her hands.

"Out of the way, Apollo!"

Apollo, in a hurried move, threw himself far from the door as Athena hit the door knob with the extinguisher, forcing it open. Just as she did it the sound of the shot left her sensitive hearing out of commission for a moment.

The scene passing in front of them would be unbelievable if they haven't had saw it with their own eyes.

Just as the Phantom shot, Trucy made Mr. Hat come out, it took the bullet and forced the Phantom to stand back and let Trucy go free, as she ran to Maya's side Franziska didn't let a second pass and whipped the Phantom's hand, making him drop the weapon. The Phantom stayed quiet, but then laughed.

"How lucky for me, the three lawyers that ruined my life are here…reunited in the same place" he was laughing like crazy, his emotions just as messed up as the last time they saw him, but even with that disorder he pulled out a device that looked like a bomb. "You remember this, right? Now, goodbye…"

Nobody could move in time, nobody could stop him from set up the bomb. Or at least, nobody in the room could.

The glass window turned into pieces as a stray bullet came in directly to the Phantom's shoulder, making him scream and drop the bomb still inactive, a guard ran and strained the Phantom at last. Franziska followed by Athena ran out of the building trying to chase the sniper that took the Phantom for them.

Apollo managed to stand on his feet and walked inside of the room, he saw The Phantom and felt so weird, it was like looking at a mirror but the expression on his reflection was one that made his face unrecognizable. Then he looked at Maya, she was visibly confused and was holding Trucy in her arms.

"Truce…" Apollo tried to get close but she flinched and held Maya even tighter. In that moment, Apollo could swear that his heart ached even more than his shoulder. "It's me…are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

But Trucy didn't answer.

Apollo had cried for very few things in his life, he was capable of focusing in the situation instead of being taken by his feeling, he had done it so many times before, like when he knew about Clay and Dhurke's death, but right in that moment he felt so broken. He had lost Clay not so long ago and now one of the persons he cares about the most was completely terrified of him, both the doing of the same monster. He couldn't hold it anymore. Tears were quick to appear, but he wouldn't cry in front of Trucy, so he turned and exited the room.

Then, he felt someone almost tackling him, he was very surprised, he saw who it was and his soul itself felt healed.

"Polly…*sob*please don't cry…"

Apollo hold her the best he could, kneeling at her level. He noticed that she was taller than the last time he saw her, he felt proud of her, so brave.

"You have no idea how much I missed you Truce…"

Nobody would hurt Trucy again, ever.

Franziska was quick to locate the shooter, but he was already trying to run away. The man was wearing a hoodie that covered his face as he ran, Franziska was smart and before he could even take advantage she used her whip and reached one of his feet, the man stumbled and ended up in the floor. They had reached him by mere coincidence, actually, Franziska had deduced that he did the shot from the building parallel to the hospital and was determined to catch him, he had to go down the same height as the girls but due to the hospital evacuation routes Franziska and Athena were able to reach the street even faster.

Franziska confronted the man, finding someone she wasn't expecting to meet.

"Shelly De Killer! You! Foolish assassin!"

"What?! Mr. De Killer, what the heck are you doing here?" yelled Athena.

"You know him? "

"He, helped us a while ago, he told us about Pearls. But he told us that The Phantom had hired him, then why he shot him?"

"Him? Is this all part of your plan, De Killer? Confess, now!"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you, my client— "

"Hold it, De Killer, you did your part, there is no reason for you to keep this act up, it's over. "the voice came from a small radio hanging in De Killer's waist, Athena took it.

"Who is it? We will track and find you right away!"

"Do it please, and for everything that's sacred, bring with you at least a cup of coffee."

"What?"

"I miss it so bad, I would kill for a cup."

"No no, who are you? What business do you have with De Killer?"

"It's Diego Armando ma'am, a pleasure to meet you." (Song I recommend: watch?v=2DTjNriHboA)

"For god's sake, Godot you fool! You are not happy enough with the trouble you caused us so many years ago?!" Franziska was really mad, but the man just laughed.

"More than enough my dear, but now I didn't do anything wrong."

"You hired an assassin."

"Former assassin, I hired him to guard the Feys. It worked, isn't it?"

"He shot a man."

"A convict, the police received authorization to open fire, what difference does it makes?"

"That's wrong in so many ways. So, you hired Mr. De Killer to protect the girls, why?"

"I owed it to someone, it's all you need to know. But listen, from now on I won't be able to keep protecting them, please, take better care of them or you will be sorry…"

"Like you have a right to ask, prisoner! "yelled Franziska.

"I'm asking nicely. But wait, just one more thing before you get bored of me. Trite, how's him?"

"Trite?"

"Phoenix Wright, I heard that he got shot."

"He's… not so well honestly, he hasn't woken up yet and the doctors say that he probably won't do it anymore." Explained Franziska.

"Th-that's what the doctors said? Oh, boss…" Athena hugged herself, her eyes watering but refusing to let the tears go. Franziska realized her mistake too late.

"It seems like the young girl didn't know either…"

"I…uh, Miles Edgeworth didn't want Ms. Fey and the fool's daughter to know. I assumed that Athena Cykes knew it already."

"Anyway, listen, I want to help. Being in prison put me in a VIP seat I didn't had seen until now, you're wasting your time if you're investigating people who wanted to hurt Wright, he's a collateral victim. "

"W-what?! "

"I heard to some things and rumors, about a conspiration against Miles Edgeworth, he has more enemies than you can think, and they're using pawns to mislead the investigation. I can't give you more details, but one thing is for sure, the old crow is involved, Morgan Fey, that is. Finding her must be your priority. And if I were you, I would keep a closer eye on Mr. Edgeworth…"


	15. Turnabout (Part 2)

**December 24, 9:15 pm**

 **The Hideout**

 **Borscht Club.**

Cold as always, the Borscht Club was a place very important to Phoenix, he had spent seven years of his life in this place trying to earn the bread of everyday. Even if the rest was skeptical, Phoenix tried to be a good father for the sake of Trucy so even if he was a complete disaster on the piano he found a chance in his talent for Poker, he even allowed Trucy to present her magic tricks but just in said club. If you ask them, both of them have good memories of the place and have shared a lot of moments as father and daughter, but it also hides the darkest crime they had seen together; Trucy's real father had been murdered in there, by Apollo's old mentor, no less. Even if it was the worst of the things that could have happened it also was the beginning of a new chapter in the lives of everyone, when Apollo appeared he turned out to be the better ally Phoenix could ask for and even a better brother/assistant for Trucy, Apollo had helped them a lot back then and they can never thank him enough.

Apollo may have a thinking on his own sometimes, especially regarding some of Wright's actions, but without him the future could have been a lot worse for everyone.

Back at the Borscht Club, when Edgeworth arrived it was lonely, it felt so weird but he had no choice but to enter. His destination was the place known as the Hideout were previously Phoenix had won so many times and it was also the place accorded on the letter, he was accompanied by Kay and Gumshoe, but they proved to be useless when he saw that the room was completely deserted.

"We are late Mr. Edgeworth…" lamented Kay

"Argh! We were so close this time Sir!" growled Gumshoe.

"Calm down detectives, our suspect may have fled but this is their hideout, we surely will find something. Now, I will examine this part, you two check over there."

"We won't wait for the forensic team?"

"No, we must work with what we have, don't ask please."

The two detectives looked at each other, Kay shook her shoulders and focused in investigating.

Edgeworth checked all the papers that were in the place but all of them were irrelevant, they were mostly sketches and delivery orders, the only clue they gave was the clear indication that someone was there. He was starting to feel frustrated.

"Sir! Sir! I found something in the trash can! "yelled Gumshoe, startling Miles but his surprise was soon replaced with intrigue.

"This…is Wright's phone!"

"What's it doing here?"

"He may have forgotten it here when he went to my office, but somehow it ended at our suspect's hands. "Edgeworth remembered the text he received in which Wright asked him to meet at the club and the one that asked Maya to come at Edgeworth's office, with that in mind, that messages couldn't have been sent by Wright if he lost his phone before. However, thinking about said messages they seemed to prepare Edgeworth's office for the attack on Wright, taking Edgeworth out of the way was logical, but then why taking Maya to the crime scene?

 **To have a witness.**

A witness for the crime. They have asserted before that this was a premeditated crime but this seems much more planned. How they could assure that Wright would lose his phone?

 **It was stolen.**

But, if it was stolen at the club the one that stole it had no way to know that he went first to his office and that would ruin the plan, according to the photos of the security, Wright and his assailant arrived at the same time.

 **It was stolen at his office.**

So, most probably Wright was being followed and then was attacked. Or, does somebody knew that he was going to go to his office? Edgeworth checked the phone and found the messages, under them there was a third sent the same day a few minutes before:

To: Siren

From: Phoenix Wright

Change of plans, I'm on my way to the Agency, I'll see you there.

Siren. Only one person comes to Edgeworth's mind; Thalassa Gramarye, what's more, Athena had told him that she was the first person who saw him at the hospital. What could this mean? If she met him at the Agency that puts her on the spot, nobody else knew that he was in his office at that time.

What if the original plan was killing him at his office, but then the plan failed and the messages are product of a plan B?

The possibility exists. But Thalassa has no motive at all and there's no evidence. It has to be someone else.

"Mr. Edgeworth! "Kay's voice kicked Edgeworth out of his thinking, she was looking at something in a drawer, upon getting closer, Miles saw a gun covered in dried blood, there were places with no blood because that was where the shooter held it, offering a clear handprint. "This could be our missing gun, Mr. Edgeworth!"

"If this blood turns to be Mr. Justice's we will know who attacked the Agency, can you dust it for prints?" asked Miles.

"Sure!"

It took a few minutes to get the prints, it looked like a crucial piece of evidence, however, the team didn't find anything else in the Hideout, dusting everything for prints looked like a waste of time, whoever were there were careful enough to clean everything, wiping away every track. It was like nobody were there at all.

"Mr. Edgeworth, I can't find a coincidence, the prints do not belong at anyone implied in this case, I have to check in the general database, it will take like 20 minutes. But we can take this to forensics and check the blood too."

"No, we can't go today. We will return to my place and check all of our information."

"Oookay… I will call the lawyers."

"No. Don't tell them yet. "Kay had felt like Edgeworth was acting weird, but that comment confirmed her doubts.

"What's wrong Mr. Edgeworth? You seem a little weird, why you don´t want to tell them? They carry the case too."

"They're trying to help, yes, but I'm the one who is responsible of the investigation. I'll contact them when we confirm all our information, they don't need to know everything we do."

Kay decided not to question him further, however, she considered the young lawyers as trusty and very important for the case, there should be a reason why Edgeworth doesn't want to implicate them. They could have discovered something by now and keeping important evidence for them was like if they were the enemy.

"We should be going, Detective, can you take us on your car?" requested Edgeworth.

"Of course Sir! But what about yours?"

"I can call someone to pick it later, let's go."

When the team left the Club it was dark outside, it was really cold and it looked like it was going to snow. The streets were empty but the buildings looked lively.

It was Christmas Eve.

Usually, Edgeworth would spend Christmas at Wright's home, he was invited every year. The first times were just fancy dinners with Wright, Maya and Pearls, but since Trucy was adopted the dinners were funnier and full of games or children like things. Before that, Christmas was a bad date for Miles, the memories of the DL-6 clouded his mind and heart around these holidays and he spent his days alone. This felt like another one of those days, there wasn't a lot of things to be grateful or happy, with his friend at death's door and the constant feeling of danger that the case in general gave he just focused on keeping the hard work.

Maybe when all of this ends there would be a real thing to celebrate. Maybe.

"Do you hear that, Mr. Edgeworth? "asked Gumshoe, Miles payed attention and heard a weak whistle not so far. Gumshoe started to look everywhere trying to find the source of the sound, when he moved a couple of trash cans he gasped loudly. "Missile!"

The dog was lying on its side, yelping, it looked like a car had hit him, there wasn't much blood but his paws looked weird. Gumshoe was almost crying while taking him on his arms.

"Mr. Edgeworth! I…I need to look for help for him, please, I just can't leave him like this…"

Edgeworth had no choice.

"Go Detective. Don't ask me for permission."

"T-thanks Mr. Edgeworth! Sorry Mr. Edgeworth!"

Gumshoe ran to his car and left quickly, Kay and Edgeworth had no choice but to use Miles's car.

"Poor Missile, I hope he's okay."

"He will."

The streets were lonely as well, Edgeworth's home wasn't so far, but thanks to the location of the Club they have to take a road a bit far from town, it was close to Lake Gourd and was always calm.

"By the way Mr. Edgeworth, I found a coincidence in the database. The prints belong to someone called Morgan Fey, but… she actually is a suspect on this case, why the system didn't show me the coincidence before?"

"Fey…no, this couldn't be, she was spotted at the airport. Are you sure Kay?"

"There's no way this could be mistaken. "

"Wright…just what the heavens happened? We must go to Wright's Agency, now."

When Edgeworth tried to turn left and return, the wheel got stuck and forced him to keep going forward.

"What the— "he tried to use the brakes but they didn't work either, the car was gaining speed quickly but he couldn't do anything. He looked at the road and felt his heart stop; right in front of them was a sharp turn, many signs warned about it and flashed as his car was approaching fast.

"Kay!"

The car hit the contention wall, breaking it and then falling to Gourd Lake's grounds, due to the speed it rolled a few times before stopping right when it was about to fall into the freezing water.

The dirt under the car was slowly falling apart, creating an hourglass which condemned both of the unconscious passengers to death…


	16. Turnabout (Part 3)

**December 25, 12:25 am**

 **Gourd Lake.**

Kay recovered consciousness slowly, everything hurt, but she thinks she's capable of moving, her airbag and belt worked fine keeping her in the seat. The front glass had shattered, making the Lake look ominous, the air was so cold.

She turned her head to see Edgeworth and what she saw filled her with shivers; his head was bowed to the front, his bangs covered his face so she couldn't see him well, but blood was dripping from his forehead.

"Mr. Edgeworth…Mr. Edgeworth! Please, wake up! "she was about to touch his shoulder when he groaned.

"Kay…" he opened his eyes and looked at her. "Are you all right?"

"I think so Mr. Edgeworth, nothing's broken at least. How about you?"

"I'm fine-nggh! "he tried to move just to be paralyzed by a sudden and sharp pain, he ended up passed out again over the wheel.

"Mr. Edgeworth! No no, keep your eyes open, c'mon! "the car moved a little to the front, sliding from his place and menacing to fall into the lake. Kay froze in her place, her heart beating like crazy, she realized that they just had a couple of minutes before the car fell, trapping and taking them to the bottom of the lake. "Mr. Edgeworth…please, can you hear me?"

"Y-yes…"

"Oh my god, keep yourself awake Mr. Edgeworth, we have to get out of here quickly, the car will fall into the lake…"

Edgeworth moved slowly, reclining in his seat and looking at his surroundings. Fortunately, the doors weren't there anymore, making their escape easier, however, he looked at himself trying to evaluate his injuries. When he tried to move the pain came from his middle, he saw his inner shirt stained red and finally localized the sharp object coming out of his side, he didn't know if it was a glass, a part of the car or even from the contention wall, but he couldn't move, his right arm hurt badly too. When he felt the car moving, he made a quick decision.

"Kay… please move quietly and get out of here, I need help to move…"

"Right…o-okay Mr. Edgeworth, here I go. "Kay was really glad of all the time she spent training as the future Yatagarasu, her movements were so quiet that the car almost stayed the same, if it weren't for her weight disappearing and destabilizing it, the car should have stayed exactly the same. Kay reached the pilot side to help Miles but then he lifted his hand like denying her help.

"Listen, Kay…I'm pinned to my seat...I can't get out…just, take the evidence with you, please..." Kay paled.

"No! Mr. Edgeworth, don't say that! I can't just let you die, I won't!"

"Kay…please, you must give it to Blackquill…"

"I said no! Evidence are just things, we can reach the truth without it, YOU can reach the truth without it, you're most important than any evidence! "Edgeworth stayed quiet, it was impossible to convince Kay of something that was already fixed in her mind. The car slipped notably scaring Kay, who came to his side immediately and checked him. "You're not actually pinned but your belt is stuck, I will cut it but be ready to hang onto me as soon as you're free, okay?"

Kay did as she said, but the time wasn't on her side, a big block of dirt fell apart and the car immediately fell forward as soon as she finished with the belt.

"Mr. Edgeworth! "she tried to pull him out but somebody suddenly took her from the back and aparted her. Edgeworth didn't saw who was it but he screamed Kay's name as he was falling, being interrupted by the sudden feeling of the freezing water, it numbed him in an instant, he couldn't feel pain anymore, he could barely think.

They say that when you die you see your whole life passing in front of your eyes, however, Edgeworth saw nothing of that.

"I failed him again…" He couldn't shake that feeling, it was his turn to help him and he couldn't return the favor.

I'm sorry

He closed his eyes. But it was far from over.

A figure appeared to his side, opposing the force of the water as the car sank, and pulled him out, it held Miles strongly and carried him out of the water.

"Edgey! Please, do something!"

Edgeworth coughed even if it hurt, he was freezing but when he opened his eyes he felt all kinds of emotions, none of them pleasant.

"Larry! Of all the people…why you…how?"

"Mr. Edgeworth! You're alive! I'm calling an ambulance right now, hold on a little more. "said Kay visibly altered. Edgeworth was too confused to ask anything and the pain was starting to be unbearable, however, for the first time in his life, he was glad that Larry was there.

 **December 25, 12:40 am**

 **?**

"What now, Simon? How can we know who's been altering the evidence and reports?"

"We have no clues to work with, it's going to be hard. However, we can assure a pair of things, our culprit has enough power to interfere with these kinds of procedures and erase his tracks so easily. It can't be any of the prison inmates, we are dealing with someone else." Discussed Simon and Ema.

"Don't you think that's weird? I didn't know a person was capable of that, they should at least leave a record. In the forensic report for example, nobody could see it without asking for permission from the detective or forensic chief, I was never asked and at the end the report was altered anyways. It's like there's nobody at all."

There's nobody at all

"Wait… what if it isn't a someone but a something?"

"What? Something…like a virus?

"Yes, just like that."

"Great, I know nothing of virus and cybernetic things…"

"I know who can help us, let's go to the Detention Center."

"It isn't closed for visits already?"

"I can do something."

"You think that there's nothing else to investigate here? that poor girl…"

"Call the police, we can't examine the bullet otherwise, the one who killed her did it because she tried to help us. The letter we found, she tried to warn Edgeworth-dono but was discovered, we can't obtain more information for now."

Ema nodded and both she and Simon retired from the scene, Simon looked at the corpse for a moment. "I'm sorry. I will see that justice is done, for my honor. "and then made a short reverence before retiring. Ema had heard weird rumors about Blackquill, the Twisted Samurai was a figure that inspired fear in everyone who looked at him, his sword and Taka didn't help, but Athena had always referred to him as a kind and noble man, honorable to death. It's the first time Ema look at him in that way.

When they arrived to the Detention Center they were surprised by Apollo, Athena, Pearls and Trucy.

"Look! Red Lawyer and company are here too! "exclaimed Ema.

"Simon! What are you doing here?" asked Athena.

"I'd like to ask you the same."

"We will meet an ally who may have information for us, also, we are looking for The Phantom being recaptured and put in his cell again."

"The Phantom! What the heck happened?

"Mr. Wright was attacked again in the hospital, it was…hard. "Athena looked at Trucy, separating her from her dad was hard but necessary, they needed her to testify in the police department.

"Darn it! Are you all right?"

"Yeah… we want to go back to the hospital as soon as we can. "

Simon now was mad; his hand was on his sword menacing to cut The Phantom into pieces as soon as he saw it.

Suddenly, a high pitch echoed in the calm night, everybody looked at the sky to find Taka flying like possessed, the hawk landed on Blackquill's shoulder but kept screaming and flapping his wings.

"What's wrong Taka? Calm down boy. "and then Simon saw it, just for a moment, each one of the guards around them pulled out their guns, one was about to make a signal. "EVERYBODY DOWN!"

As soon as he screamed the guards opened fire against them, the men shielded who they had close; Apollo pushed Athena and Pearls, Simon covered Ema and Trucy. Apollo protected themselves behind a police car while Simon hid behind his car.

"Mr. Polly! "cried Pearls hugging him.

"Don't panic Pearls, I'm here…" but he had no idea of what to do, he looked at Simon hoping that he knew, but he was already acting.

"Go Taka! "the loyal Hawk flew again, cutting the air like it was nothing, he went directly against the faces of the guards to distract them so Blackquill could knock them. It worked with one guard, then two, but the third noticed their strategy and acted with caution; Simon was huge, that was why he needed Taka to distract them and not be seen. Said guard took a knife and waited for the bird, as soon as it got close he slashed the air with his knife, unfortunately his attack reached Taka, hurting its wing and making it fall to the ground.

He waited and finally saw Simon, he quickly noticed Taka's absence and tried to retreat, but it was too late.

*BANG*

A single shot that got lost among the others, however, this one reached his target and sent him to the ground the same way as his loyal pet.

"I got the Horse Objective! I repeat! Horse is down! Take Queen and Tower objectives and get out of here! Now!"

Just a few shots kept being fired, then the place was suddenly filled with black smoke. Apollo held the girls closer, praying for that to end, and waited until he heard no more shots.

Police officers from the Detention Center had come to their aid, capturing almost every fake guard, however, four of them were missing.

Sadly, the four weren't the only ones missing, Apollo and company felt their souls abandoning their bodies when they saw the blood…and the rest of their friends gone…

Edgeworth woke up in a hospital bed, his head throbbing and his chest hurting with each breath, he noticed many bandages covering his wounds as well as one of his eyes. He tried not to focus much in his injuries, but when he looked at his room found out that nobody was there, it was dark and alone.

A funny sound caught his attention to the small table next to him, where a radio stood, it was ringing in a phone like song. Miles make an effort to took it, noticing that one of his arms was on a cast, and answered the insistent call.

"MILES EDGEWORTH. "the voice on the radio was distorted and unrecognizable. "YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED BY NOW THAT YOURS WAS NO ACCIDENT, THAT WAS A WARNING, YOU'RE ON OUR WAY, DROP THIS CASE OR WE WILL KILL YOU."

"I'm not afraid of you, whoever you are…"

"WE KNOW THAT, YOU'RE KNOWN FOR NOT GIVING UP. BUT ALL OF THIS WAS A TRAP, THE EVIDENCE YOU FOUND WAS FORGED, THE LETTER, THE GUN… WELL, THE PHONE WAS REAL BUT NOW IS LOST. THE REAL GUN YOU'RE LACKING HAS THE PRINTS OF SOMEONE ELSE, AND YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHOSE ARE THESE, AREN'T YOU?"

"Thalassa… Gramarye."

"HER TRIAL IS TOMORROW, BUT YOU ARE NO LONGER THE PROSECUTOR AT CHARGE DUE TO YOUR WOUNDS, STAY QUIET OR THE DAMAGE WE WILL MAKE TO YOU WILL BE PERMANENT."

"You won't do anything; I will find the truth behind all of this."

"YOU WON'T, LISTEN WELL, WE HAVE TRUCY WRIGHT, YOU WILL STAY QUIET IF YOU WANT TO SEE HER AGAIN. DON'T EVEN TRY TO ASK FOR HELP, IF WE SEE ANY OF THE PEOPLE OF THE CURRENT INVESTIGATION TEAM STILL WORKING ON THE CASE THE GIRL IS GONE, YOU HEAR ME? I WANT TO SEE EACH ONE OF THEM IN THE GALLERY TOMORROW... IT'S OVER MILES EDGEWORTH."

The radio turned off immediately, leaving Miles without words, he clutched the radio and felt powerless and desperate. He suddenly felt weak, his vision blurred, he was unable to do anything now, the enemy had surpassed him this time.

He closed his eyes and, for a moment, all he can do was screaming.


	17. Edgeworth

**The case until now:**

 **Phoenix Wright was shot at Edgeworth's Office.**

 **He was previously attacked at his own office when he went to recover a letter and meet with Thalassa Gramarye. During the attack Apollo arrived but was wounded in the scene by a fourth party which entered by the window.**

 **What happened next is unknown until the moment that Phoenix was shot.**

 **Iris delivered the letter from Kristoph, she was murdered. The killer is still unknown.**

 **Somebody has been altering the records and reports, probably a virus.**

 **Two guns have been found, one has Apollo's finger prints, the other has Thalassa's.**

 **Simon Keyes pronounces himself as neutral for unknown reasons, Godot is helping.**

 **Edgeworth fell on a trap and suffered and accident, he was taken out of the investigation and is currently being blackmailed.**

 **Simon Blackquill, Ema Skye and Trucy Wright are missing.**

 **The Investigation Team (Edgeworth, Athena, Apollo, Ema, Franziska, Kay and Gumshoe) are unable to continue with the case due to the kidnap warning. All of them must be present in Thalassa's trial.**

 **December 25, 7:00 am**

 **Hickfield Hospital**

Edgeworth felt bad. Not just the conditions of his body were terrible, the feeling of utter defeat and being completely useless had him reduced to mere trash. He couldn't sleep, couldn't think, he just… was.

The door of his room opened a bit, a sad but cute looking face looked inside and smiled at him.

"Hey… Mr. Edgeworth, how are you feeling?"

"Kay, please, leave me alone. "but she entered quietly anyway, she got close to him. To the room entered the remaining team as well; Apollo, Athena, Pearls, Maya and Franziska, Gumshoe being too ashamed to see Miles.

"How are you Mr. Edgeworth? We heard about your accident, is it bad? "asked Apollo, he had clearly written all over his face all the pain and frustration he was feeling, even his antennae-like hair was down. But Apollo wasn't the only one, Athena looked pale and with not even half of her usual energy, the Feys hugged each other and even Franziska had a unique expression between worry and being angry. Miles felt guilty.

"I will be fine, but…the case, it's over. "he said that loud and clear, saving everybody the suspense.

"What? Why Mr. Edgeworth? We…we can't! Trucy, Ema and Blackquill are nowhere to be found, we can't abandon them! "Apollo seemed like the only one capable to protest at the moment, Franziska crossed her arms.

"You were threatened, right? Miles Edgeworth?" asked Franziska.

He stayed quiet for a second, it was useless to try and hide that fact.

"They have Trucy, they killed our only witness, stripped me of my authority and even my health. We lost."

Now the room was the one quiet.

"W-wait…a witness? Why we didn't know about it?" Asked Apollo.

"He found it out before his accident, a girl who was trying to help Mr. Wright was murdered. I told him to tell you but he thought it wasn't necessary…" told Kay.

"Wasn't necessary? Mr. Edgeworth…that was everything but necessary! We could have helped you, even prevented your accident, why you kept it for yourself? Please, tell me…"

"I had no specific reason."

*KLANG! * chains again, locks, lots of locks. Apollo also felt his bracelet's furious tightening. Miles had a secret so deep that made it all appear at the same time. But this time, they had no clues to work with, no nervous tics, not a testimony they could examine, nothing at all.

(Song I recommend to listen: watch?v=Q3RP4R_N0iI&list=PL6akIKaXBeU3jYgKd0SGcxReXvn9qK_de&index=19)

"Mr. Edgeworth..." lamented Athena. "you know Mr. Wright gave us his magatama, right?"

"You know us; you have helped us before…why the sudden disbelief?" There, the bracelet reacted again, but this time Apollo wasn't the one who perceived the truth.

"Oh… I see, it isn't sudden disbelief, you have never trust us at all…right? "murmured Athena figuring out his true reason, he looked at her surprised. "When I joined the Agency you also wanted to save Blackquill, but you preferred to move the world to return his badge to Mr. Wright, who fully trusted Apollo. Every time you needed help you went for him even if he was busy. "everyone turned their attention to Athena, but she was calm and Widget glowed with the cold blue of sadness. "We haven't won your trust yet, right?"

Keyes had also noticed his lack of trust in the two young lawyers, he had never worked with them before but Wright was very proud of them, they were his successors by all the meaning of the word, then why don't trust in them like in the own Wright?

The locks disappeared, Miles sighed and put a hand on his head.

"I didn't think you would figure it out so easily, I underestimated you. But, even if I can't fully trust you I… I thought I could carry this case on my own, it was my duty, I wanted to repay him for everything he has done for me, I considered myself enough…"

"That was it, Mr. Edgeworth? I noticed you were acting weird but I didn't know…" Kay put her hand on his shoulder. "You were never alone, but you acted like you were. The Yatagarasu did even the impossible, you remember why? They were a team, not just one, everybody here is giving their all, please, even if you don't trust them do it for Mr. Wright, give them an opportunity. I doubt they will fail you. "He looked at everyone, Kay was right, but his mistake was already done.

"I'm sorry…but now it's too late…"

"We can still make it! We will work hard even if you're not the Prosecutor."

"That's not the problem, the kidnappers said that nobody in our team can continue with the investigation. If any of us dares to interfere with their plans they will kill us and Trucy."

"We will find Trucy, Mr. Edgeworth, we can't let this to end just like that…" said Apollo, loud enough to startle Miles.

"I can't risk anything; I must think first on her… it's too dangerous even go and look for her."

"But you're the Chief Prosecutor, they can't stop you so easily."

"I just simply cannot let anything to happen to her, Wright, he would never forgive me."

"The truth also matters to him, there has to be a way!"

"No, I'm afraid that's not the case."

"What?"

"Do you know why he forged the card that put Kristoph Gavin in jail? "Apollo suddenly fell silent. That's an answer he wanted to obtain since he met Mr. Wright, it had no explanation at all and looked so out of place, he really wanted to know the true reason behind the forgery that almost cost him his newly obtained badge. "He wanted to put Kristoph on jail immediately, he couldn't wait any longer. Kristoph started to act again murdering Zak, and the only two loose ends remaining were Wright and Trucy. It would have been so easy for him to dispose of Wright, after all, he just could have him convicted, but Trucy wouldn't stayed quiet if her dad were put in prison."

"What, why Trucy?"

"She knew he was the one who made the fake evidence, he used her to deliver it. It was pretty decisive testimony and one that Gavin couldn't let to be. But then she was taken by Wright and, being his friend, it was impossible for him to dispose of her at the moment, but when he murdered Zak it scared Wright to death and pushed him to do the last thing in his mind. He forged the card to finally put him in prison away from his daughter. I can tell for sure, in Wright's book, first is Trucy, then everything else."

"Fine…" Apollo had his fists closed, his head was low but his voice was clear. "If…if everything is an obstacle to you right now I understand why you want to give up…but…" He lifted his head, his eyes reflected how angry he was, however, they also seemed to be at the verge of tears. Edgeworth finally knew how the so called Chords of Steel truly sounded. "I DON'T CARE, I DON'T CARE IF I'M KILLED OUT THERE BECAUSE I JUST CAN'T LEAVE THIS LIKE THAT! I CAN'T LET THE CRIMINALS GO AWAY JUST BECAUSE I AM AFRAID OF WHAT THEY COULD DO! "he now was crying, he tried to breathe and calm himself, he clutched the coat he had in one of his hands. "A dragon never yields, even when wounded, Mr. Edgeworth, and a phoenix neither do. Mr. Wright would never give up just like that, you know what he would do? Bluff his way out, for him there's always a way!"

"Bluff…his way out…" it was like those words ignited the spark on Edgeworth again, not only Apollo was right, he remembered all the times in which Phoenix put his life on the line for a bluff, doing it just because he knew he had to do it…just because he couldn't give up.

(Song I recommend to listen: watch?v=AL50leXaFe8&index=8&list=PL6akIKaXBeU1ZO_IApxeShVmSK0SLnSvu)

Edgeworth had an idea.

"That's it! Mr. Justice! "exclaimed Miles" we can keep investigating..."

"You lost your mind, Miles Edgeworth? "exclaimed Franziska.

"Maybe, we will continue the investigation, but not ourselves. We will contact somebody else, give all the information and guide him through the path we had discovered, we can't appear in the outside but we can follow the investigation remotely.

"Remotely? How exactly?"

Edgeworth smiled, leading a finger to his left temple in his characteristic motion, his confidence was back, he felt so good.

"We have a Secret Weapon right, Kay? "Kay's eyes ignited again, almost throwing sparks away.

"Little Thief! We just need the info and we can investigate from here!"

"Bluff our position…that's brilliant! But we still need someone to obtain the information, and where will we be looking at? We already checked all the scenes. "commented Athena.

I'll do the investigation…" the voice came unexpected and everybody jumped, Miles looked at his partners and found a face we weren't expecting to see again…

"Mia Fey… it's…it's been so long." She was being channeled by Maya, Pearls looked at her with plain admiration while she held Taka in her tiny hands.

"I want to help Phoenix. They had never saw my face so I can go and retrieve the information you need." Proposed Mia.

"That's perfect! Oh my god we can continue! "Athena get all exited and held Pearls in her arms, Apollo still seemed troubled.

"What about Trucy? And what we will investigate now?" he asked.

"Trucy will be safe as long as we follow the instructions, but if we want to pull our move in trial tomorrow we must find her, Mr. Blackquill and Ms. Skye. It's too dangerous to trust in the police right now…"

"Oh, you never leave behind your foolishness do you? Fool Miles Edgeworth" Franziska smiled, slashing the air with her whip in a quick motion. "We still have Agent Lang; he knows how to act quietly. I will contact him in secret."

"And respecting our site to investigate, I think there's still a loose end, isn't it? "Mia seemed to know the case, Phoenix had told Miles someday that she was like a very powerful spirit that always take care of him and Maya with some kind of omnipresence, but he didn't believe it until now. "Iris was killed for something, but we know that she was at certain moment in the Agency, the problem is that we don't know when."

"Iris? The girl dressed in purple? "Apollo paled and took his hand to his shoulder and then his head, like if remembering something was hurting him.

"Hey, hey. Don't close your eyes please…you are a friend of Feenie, right? Your name is Zeus, right? No no, Apollo, yes that is. Apollo, stay with me okay? I will call for help… my name is Iris, don't be afraid…"

They were like flashbacks, he was wounded at the time and his mind wasn't so clear, but he remembered the words and her purple clothes.

Apollo, listen, we have to go…I will find help for you, c'mon…

Please take care of him, I can't stay…I have to find Feenie.

"I-I saw her, when I was shot, I can't remember it clearly but she was there, she helped me."

"What?! Are you sure Apollo?" questioned Athena.

"Yes, I can swear it. After that I woke up at Eldoon's place."

"I will investigate Eldoon's place then, it may be a clue there. By the way, Mr. Edgeworth, who's on trial tomorrow?"

"A woman called Lamiroir."

"Lamiroir?! What the hell?! Why her? What she had to do with Mr. Wright?!"

"It's no time to discuss that topic right now, Mr. Justice, you will understand soon. It's not something I can tell you."

"Seriously? C'mon…"

"Let's focus again, I will let you know the results of the investigation. Take care of yourselves please. "said Mia, ready to go.

"It isn't dangerous for you to go alone? Ms. Fey?" asked Edgeworth.

"She won't, I'm pleased to go with you, my Kitten…" the voice of the radio startled Athena, but also remembered her of their unique ally.

"Mr. Armando! Have you been listening the entire time?" yelled Athena.

"Yes, there wasn't much to do so I enjoyed the show, but now I have a reason to interrupt."

"Diego! You…are here…" Mia took the radio from Athena like if it was made of glass.

"I can't do a lot right now, but I will help you in any way I can my Kitten. Let's go, time is precious."

Mia barely said goodbye, she was quick to left the room.

"I think that's what we can do for now…if you could please leave me rest a little. "said Edgeworth, now that the feeling of drowning on desperation and anguish had passed he felt real tired.

"Oh! Of course Mr. Edgeworth, we will come back later. We still have much information to share, rest well, I almost forget that we bring you flowers. "Athena smiled to Pearls as she spoke, the girl handed Taka to Athena and pulled out a small bouquet from a bag hanging from her shoulder. Sunflowers.

After the bouquet was left on Edgeworth's small table his visitors left the room one by one.

"Wait, Mr. Justice. "Apollo stayed and looked at him.

"Yes?"

"Thank you. "Edgeworth sighed" I was so blind, thank you for opening my eyes."

Apollo smiled a little and looked at the ground.

"I know how you feel, I too lost a friend not so long ago, my best friend…I was so mad to even cry or think straight. I also thought that me alone could solve everything and bring justice…but I was wrong. Today, I just told what I would have wanted to hear back then, and what I feel right now, I'm happy to see that it helped. "and Apollo exited the room, leaving Edgeworth with a feeling of empathy and respect for the young man, this time for real.

A few minutes later, Kay returned to Miles' room to check on him but he wasn't there. She was about to panic when she noticed that the bouquet was missing a few flowers and she deduced where he could be. She found the room she was looking for and after seeing all the police around she went on.

She found Edgeworth on his feet, right next to Phoenix's bed, he was still unconscious even after all that happened right in front of him. Edgeworth had left the sunflowers in a vase close to his bed and now was looking at him sadly.

"The doctors said that, if he didn't wake up with all the madness in his room from yesterday, he probably will never open his eyes again. "explained Edgeworth in a voice that pretended to be all cold and strong, but he was worried. "I feel useless when I see him, there's nothing I could do to save his life. But he has a legacy like no one else, they taught me how to stand up again just a while ago, if he trained such exceptional professionals he won't die so easily. I swear to you that I will find the truth, Wright. I swear it for my honor, our old friendship, and everything you have done for me...

Same as the sunflowers always looked at the sun, the team would never stop looking for the truth…


	18. Last Step to Turnabout

**December 25, 11:00 am**

 **Eldoon's Noodles**

Being channeled was a weird feeling, technically you are there but all the time you feel so out of place, Mia was almost used to it, she helped Phoenix innumerable times but never like this, she hasn't been around for so long.

"Hey lady. What would you like for today? "asked Eldoon politely, luckily he didn't recognize her.

"Thanks, but I'm not here for noodles this time. I heard that you helped a guy named Apollo Justice a couple of days ago."

"Oh yeah, I owed him one big! He didn't have enough money and I gave him a special discount."

"That's not what I want to know. "she led her hand at the chest and touched the same place where Apollo was wounded. "It was more than a special discount."

Eldoon looked surprised, but then his face changed and he pointed at Mia with the spoon he was holding.

"Who are you? I haven't seen you with Mr. Justice…"

"Hey, don't you dare to doubt of her! "Godot's voice popped out of the radio so suddenly it scared Eldoon.

"Who's that? Are you a reporter?"

"Diego! I got this" whispered Mia to the radio, then she fixed her gaze on Eldoon "Honestly I don't know him that good, I'm a friend of Mr. Wright, I— "

"Oh! The old Phoenix. He and his daughter are distinguished clients, so, if you're friends with them I will gladly help you! "he touched the bowl on his head, looked at all of his surroundings and got close to Mia. "Apollo was pretty bad, I thought that he was done, but the girl that brought him begged me not to call an ambulance, she said that they were being chased and she couldn't leave him to die. Luckily he managed to survive, but as soon as he woke up he seemed really scared of something and left my house even when I told him to rest. He's stubborn, I'm worried."

"He's fine, you did a pretty good job. Mr. Eldoon, can you tell me more about the girl?"

"She looked so worried for him, but as soon as I began to attend him she said that she had to go somewhere else and ran away. But she left something behind." Eldoon searched in a bag and pulled out a chess piece along with a written card." She also had the boy's attorney's badge but she put it back on his lapel herself. I'm sorry, but that's all I can tell you."

Mia looked at the evidence. The chess piece was unusual, it had the head of a dog instead of any other normal piece, the card said "You were right, but please, don't expose yourself, he's the leader."

"Sadly, this isn't much information, how could they save the case with this kind of evidence?" thought Mia.

"What did you find, my dear? "asked Godot.

"A chess piece with the shape of a dog and a card that seems like a warning."

"A warning to who?"

"Maybe Iris, she was carrying it."

"A dog? There's a guy in this prison that is associated with a big and black dog; Dogen. But he's retired and is kinda like a good man now, I can't imagine what he has to do with this case…I will investigate here, but it seems like you hit a dead end."

"Not quite. We confirmed that Iris was here, Eldoon said that she left soon, thinking about it she was trying to protect Phoenix from something so she surely went with him after making sure that Apollo was safe. However, she never actually met him."

"She was killed in her way."

"Yes, but her body was found entirely somewhere else. They moved her body from the original crime scene, it only could mean that they want to hide something, I have to find what."

"You're so smart, you have this case done kitten…how I missed you…"

"Diego…"

"There's no time for this, I'll be back in half an hour, be careful kitten, please."

Mia looked quickly at her surroundings, trying to deduce the fastest way to the Agency and then followed it. It wasn't so far, Eldoon's Noodles was all a tradition to the office since it was Fey & Co. She had showed the place to Phoenix back when he was a clumsy boy, he later took Maya, a few years later he took his daughter and now his protégés, even Edgeworth was invited a time or two. You never know how much time has passed until you look at where are you now.

Mia cares about Phoenix a lot, she laughs every time she remembers how he looked when she met him, back then she thought he was just an immature boy who still had a lot to live, but something in him caught her attention. When he asked her to teach him how to be an attorney she was surprised, herself wasn't so experienced and was afraid of spoiling the boy, but it did a turn for the better. When Phoenix finally turned into an attorney she was very proud, even if he was still dumb he always put all his heart into his profession and cared about the people, she guided him until he no longer needed her but she still cared about him. He never abandoned Maya after Mia died and, in exchange, she helped him when he needed the most, she saw him fall and rise and turn into who he is now and she couldn't be prouder, not only of him, but of herself. When she saw the office, she couldn't help but smile.

Out of her mind, she noticed an alley in the way and decided to investigate it. If the crime was committed nearly this had to be the place, however, as much as she looked there wasn't a single clue. When she was about to leave she suddenly felt something, like a shiver but not quite, she knew that that feeling was in the Fey's blood, the power of feeling unnatural things. She searched for the source and found a Magatama just like Maya's, it barely glowed but was like a signal, right where it glowed there was blood. Mia moved a trash container that was close and found a frightening sight; blood everywhere and things written with it, it looked like whoever shot the victim had no time to erase it and just tried to make it illegible after hiding it with the container. Luckily, it was probably dark and the killer couldn't see well so Mia was still able to read the words: Engarde.

Mia tried to figure out the meaning of that when the radio turned up, she was about to answer when she heard that two men were talking.

"Yes, that piece is mine. However, a long time ago I gave it as a present to my young acolyte."

"Simon Keyes?"

"Yes, he escaped from prison without a reason, but I think he knows what he does."

"Why are you so cooperative? You surely are covering up for him."

"No, I'm telling the truth. I'm so old now, I have no reason to make trouble anymore. And he, he changed too, he was a completely lost soul, so ignored but powerful, until he met somebody…I never knew who, but he was never the same."

"If that person escaped, you think that was reason enough for him to escape too?"

"Indeed. You just have to see how much he cares and it's pretty obvious. "

So, Simon Keyes escaped with Iris but wasn't with her and then she was killed, presumably by a dead man. This was bad, now they had more questions and mysteries but no solid theories, it was like something critical was still missing, but what?

"Hey kitten?"

"What?"

"I have to go now…you know, all these years I only wanted one thing, but I thought it was as impossible as seeing people fly…"

"You never know what can happen, even that could be possible." Diego laughed at her comment.

"True. "but he sounded serious. "I just wanted an opportunity… to say goodbye."

"Diego…stop blaming yourself, please. I love you."

"I know. I miss you so bad, kitten. I hope you are fine wherever you are now…"

"I'll always be by your side."

 **December 25, ?**

 **?**

Trucy woke up slowly in a room that seemed illuminated but alone, it took her a couple of minutes to know how she was exactly; she was kneeled in the floor with her arms and ankles tied up, she couldn't move a lot but tried to see how was the rope and if she could free herself from it. She heard voices right next to her.

"Simon! Simon! Please, wake up, are you okay? Simon!"

"Ughh…I-I am fine…" he murmured. Trucy may not be as precise as Apollo with the perception, but Simon's voice was raspy and pained, even if he tried to cover it. What's more, just when he said that he was fine his shoulder moved quickly, like if it suddenly hurt, in fact by looking at it closely it was possible to see a large stain on his clothes, the black covered it well but his coat was ragged on top of the shoulder.

"Mr. Blackquill…you were shot…" said Trucy, Simon's shoulder moved again, Ema looked worried.

"It's just a scratch…the bullet just grazed me."

"But it bled pretty bad Simon, you're even paler than normal, we have to look for help— "

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen soon. "a figure emerged from the shadows, the shape of his hair was unmistakable and made the three of them go pale.

"Mr. Wright! How…how the heck?!" yelled Ema.

But said man only laughed, when he came closer he had nothing in common with Phoenix. He was taller, stronger and his skin was too tanned, when he smiled his sharp fangs looked intimidating.

"You too fell into the trick, huh? The name's Furio Tigre, don't you dare to forget it puny lawyers. "he took a chair and sat down in front of them, he was wearing a blue suit identical to the one Phoenix always wears. He even had a badge that looked like it was made out of cardboard. "Pretty costume huh? You know, there's only a thing that I lack to be the one and only Phoenix Wright… a freaking hole in the chest! "Tigre laughed like crazy and showed his fangs, mocking them with his cruel sense of humor.

"You're not even half of what daddy is! "yelled Trucy. Tigre looked at her and smiled.

"Oh, the phoenix chick! How I wanted to meet you, you know, you have grown quite a lot. "Tigre then took something from the chest pocket of his suit and showed it to his prisoners, making them gasp; he held Phoenix's golden locket right in his hand, open and with Trucy's photo on it, it was unmistakable, only then they noticed the absence of it from Phoenix's belongings back in the hospital. It was covered in blood…

They came to the realization that, if Tigre had the locket, there was only a way in which he could have obtained it…he had shot Wright…they had the culprit right in the front laughing and sitting like nothing mattered to him….

"How does it feels? Huh? Having your culprit right here and being unable to do a thing…you just wait here, the fun has just begun..."

"Engarde? "asked Edgeworth after seeing Little Thief's recreation of the scene Mia found, she nodded. "but Simon Keyes was there. A ghost can't kill anyone, but then why Keyes left evidence incriminating himself? That makes no sense. We also had the Phantom to think, he attacked Wright in the hospital and everything matches with his modus operandi."

"No, the Phantom wasn't responsible of the first attack. Did you saw him? That man is completely mad and ruined, he came all by himself and attacked openly. He was supposed to be a spy and had never acted so desperate, he wanted revenge. "said Franziska.

"That's a point, but nobody knew that Phoenix is alive and yet he found him."

"He knew that he was alive and he disguised himself like Apollo Justice just when he knew that he wasn't close. We have our answer; he was stalking the kids."

"Kids hmph…" complained Athena.

"So, the Phantom is out of the question, but Engarde is dead!"

"It's possible Mr. Edgeworth. One of our suspects is Morgan Fey, even if she's weak she's a spirit medium."

"Curses! This madness can't be true…"

"Mr. Edgeworth, sir, she was recaptured yesterday among the shooters and companions at the Detention Center. It all depends on tomorrow's trial now. "Gumshoe finally faced Edgeworth, expecting to be fired the second he opened his mouth, however, Miles looked at him.

"It wasn't your fault, detective, quit with the puppy face and let's focus on what's important now, you hear me?"

"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"

"But we won't be able to do a thing during the trial…" pointed Apollo.

"Then we will bluff that too…we have to act as if they had our hands tied, we haven't lost yet, until then, they better be ready."

The team now filled with new determination looked at all the evidence, at all the people in there and then felt the cold of the night already falling upon them.

Tomorrow, the trial that will decide it all, the hardest trial in their lives…

The trial that would reveal everything…


	19. Turnabout Legacy

**Court Record:**

 **THE TEAMS RESULT.**

 **Attorney's Badge:**

It´s still shiny, proof that I'm a defense attorney.

 **Magatama:**

Mr. Wright gave it to me. It let you see the secrets of a person's heart.

 **Bullet #1:**

Found at Edgeworth's office, unidentified.

 **Mr. Edgeworth's jacket:**

He gave it to Trucy in his way to the office.

 **Mr. Wright´s Medical Report:**

The bullet went clean through his stomach, shot at point blank, he was hit at the left side of his head with a hard, plain and large object, his right wrist is broken and some bruises are thought to be defensive injuries, last but no less he was stabbed with a knife at his right side.

 **Mr. Wright's notebook.**

Seems like it´s his agenda. He was going to meet Ms. Thalassa Gramarye.

 **Mr. Wright's wallet.**

He has just a few bucks, but has a photo of Trucy on it.

 **Mr. Wright´s watch.**

It´s broken, stopped at 7:00 pm.

 **Photo of the first visitor.**

Obtained at the hospital, it shows a woman dressed in white clothes and with light brown hair entering Wright's room.

 **Knife**

It's Edgeworth´s, has his fingerprints. Used to stab Mr. Wright.

 **Mr. Wright's suit.**

Very blue. Has a lot of blood on it, I can´t stand seeing it for long. Shows that he was shot at point blank.

 **Attorney's Badge:**

It's Mr. Wright´s…years of experience are stored here; I feel like his heart as well.

 **Bullet #2.**

Found in the hallway.

 **Photo #2.**

Taken in the ambulance as reference, shows Mr. Wright as we found him.

Security Camera Photos

Took at the entrance of the building. Shows Mr. Edgeworth before Maya and me.

 **Bloodied Jacket**

Was hanged on Mr. Edgeworth's Office. Supposedly used to impersonate him.

 **Bloodied Gun**

Covered with Mr. Wright's blood, was fired three times. Has Apollo's prints.

 **Bloodied Bullet**

It was on Apollo´s shoulder…gross…

 **Prosecutor Badge:**

I keep it at my pocket. Brings back so many memories…

 **Wright's Bike:**

It's in pretty bad shape. Was hidden on an alley.

 **Stray bullet:**

Found at the pot of the mascot of Wright's Agency.

 **Iris' Preliminary Report**

She died from a gunshot to the chest.

 **Mia's Report**

It contains a photo of the new crime scene and some notes about it.

 **December 26, 10:00 am**

 **Defendant Lobby no. 3**

Four days. Four days had passed since Phoenix was attacked, four days of him fighting for his life and his friends fighting as hard as him to find the truth.

It was rare the occasion in which the defendant lobby was crowded, however, this time looked like a party; Edgeworth, Kay, Apollo, Athena, Franziska, Gumshoe, Pearls. Each one of them waiting for a miracle.

Maya stayed at the hospital, Larry had arrived and refused to leave her alone after seeing the state in which Edgeworth was. Miles thought that it could be a really bad idea, both Larry and Maya were magnets for troubles, but he gave Larry the benefit of the doubt because he felt like he owed him one for saving him in the Lake. He had proven that he could be in the right place at the right time for once.

"Who's going to defend Ms. Lamiroir? "asked Athena, in that moment somebody entered the lobby.

"Miles, you should at least introduce me to your party here, don't you think? "the stranger retired the hat he was wearing from his head, put it on his chest and inclined softly. "Raymond Shields, ladies and gentlemen. Defense lawyer."

"Mr. Shields, I can't thank you enough for this. "Edgeworth also wanted to do a small reverence, but before he did Ray put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're a mess Miles, rest as much as you can, uncle Ray will take care of this."

"Mr. Shields! I'm so happy to see you again! "yelled Kay.

"Oh yeah? How about a hug?"

"I will actually accept this time!"

Kay almost made him drop his hat, the looks in Apollo and Athena's faces were of utterly confusion.

"We can trust in Mr. Shields for this case, we have to fill him in all we have before the start of the trial. The prosecutor is also eager to find the truth, and I'm sure he will do a perfect job…I think…."

"You… think, Mr. Edgeworth, what are you talking about? "Apollo started to get nervous.

"This isn't his first trial, but it is the first this big."

"Oh, don't tell me that I'm facing Debeste…" Ray put on a serious face, Edgeworth nodded approvingly.

"I taught him as well as I could, let's hope the best."

"Wow Mr. Edgeworth, I didn't imagine you as a mentor at all, it's a surprise for me. "Athena looked at him with admiration, he smiled.

"I never pictured Wright as a mentor either, but there you are. Let's hope I made a good job."

The time passed, they gave all the information obtained to Ray but Lamiroir never arrived. The trial began with the team almost filling the gallery, Shields on the defense bench and an older Sebastian Debeste occupying the prosecution side, he was wearing a long wine coat, with his badge proudly pinned to it.

"Mr. Debeste, I wasn't expecting to see you today, where's Mr. Edgeworth?" asked the Judge.

"He suffered an accident just yesterday, your honor, he still is watching us from the gallery. "Debeste spoke strongly, a tone unbelievable to those who remembered the dumb and insecure boy he once was.

"Oh, I see many familiar faces I didn't expected in there, something's wrong?"

"No, your Honor, just a change of plans, that's all. Now, our defendant hasn't arrived yet, bailiff?"

"Just now Mr. Debeste, I'll escort her right now."

Nobody was expecting the state in which she entered, Apollo was used to see her on her singer clothes so seeing her so casual was a strong first impression by itself, however, she had a black eye and one of her arms immobilized. Her eyes had color now and looked focused, she was taken to the defendant's chair.

"Now, let's begin. Mr. Debeste, please give us your statement."

"Of course your Honor. On the night of December 23, Phoenix Wright was attacked at his office, then taken to the Prosecutor's Building where he was almost killed by a gunshot. In a previous trial Miles Edgeworth was found innocent and there were proofs that showed a person dressed as him committing the crime and then escaping. We have proofs that point at the defendant."

"And which are your proofs, Prosecutor? If you care to enlighten us."

"Let me give a brief explanation before all. When Mr. Wright was attacked at his office there was also a second victim; Apollo Justice. Mr. Justice was shot in the scene presumably by our culprit, the Prosecution presents this evidence: the gun that shot him. "Debeste showed the gun, bloodied and bad looking. "Even when this piece of evidence was dubious we checked it and all is legit, the blood is Mr. Justice's and the prints belong to him and the defendant."

"What?! But that's impossible! "yelled Apollo, his Chords of Steel made the entire courtroom to look at him. Debeste pointed at him with a baton he was holding.

"And there he is, my first witness, your Honor. Bailiff, escort him down right now."

Apollo froze, he thought about the kidnappers and the warning, he started shivering, then he felt a hand reaching to him and posing in his shoulder, he looked and found Edgeworth's cold eyes, he looked at him firmly but somehow comprehensive, he nodded and with that motion made him get the message; "It's all right."

"Meanwhile, Mr. Debeste, why was this evidence dubious? "asked Ray.

"It appeared at the Prosecutors' Offices, like a gift."

 **It appeared at the Prosecutors' Offices**

A clue that seemed fishy, it was engraved in the mind of all the assistants.

Apollo took the stand, he looked at Lamiroir like hoping for an answer, but she avoided his gaze.

"Please state your name and occupation."

"Apollo Justice, defense lawyer."

"Now, Mr. Justice, I need you to testify about what you remember about the attack."

"It's not much, I remember entering the Agency and seeing somebody pointing a gun at Mr. Wright. I fought the assailant and ended up shot. Before passing out I saw someone next to Mr. Wright holding a weapon…"

"You saw the assailant?"

"No, not clearly. Their face was covered."

"I'm afraid that this testimony doesn't prove a thing, Mr. Debeste. It can't be considered as valid." Dismissed Ray, but Sebastian just smiled and waved his baton.

"Patience Mr. Shields. You should expect nothing but the best from me, you may know me from years before, but now, I won't disappoint anyone. I'm like the director of this court, it's my duty to ensure that every instrument sounds correctly and just in time…" he pointed his baton back to Apollo. "Mr. Justice, you didn't see the assailant, but the evidence talks for us, only her fingerprints are there, however…" he waved upwards" I won't pursue that point…you said that you remember seeing someone next to Mr. Wright, am I correct?"

"Yes. But I didn't saw their face either."

"Mr. Justice, I'm afraid that what you said isn't possible at all. That fourth person you saw doesn't exist."

"What? B-but I saw it, and there were marks of someone entering by the Agency's window."

"Somebody entered through the window, yes, but not that day."

"How are you so sure, Mr. Debeste? You seem eager to disapprove every theory the investigation team had."

"This is but a theory too, and together we will found out which one is the true one. Let's assume for the sake of the argument that there was a fourth person, but then, how Mr. Wright managed to escape from the scene? And how is Mr. Justice still alive?"

"How could you know that he escaped? What if they took him to the second scene by force and left me to die? I'm sure that someone else helped me. "Apollo seemed rushed, he thought they had deduced almost everything by now. Were all of them wrong?

"No, Mr. Wright was for a few moments in the scene. You remember this letter, right? "Debeste showed Iris' letter.

"That letter was mentioned in your report Mr. Debeste, if I remember correctly these letter bears the prints of Mr. Wright but the blood of Mr. Justice. "said the Judge, reading a bunch of papers on his desk.

"I'm glad that you read my report your Honor, that saves me a lot of explanations. He must've checked on Mr. Justice before touching the letter, what's more, we have evidence that shows that Mr. Wright left the office by his own feet, right, Mr. Shields?"

"His bike…"

"Exactly. Nobody stopped him during the attack, that could only happen under my supposition; there wasn't a fourth person and the assailant escaped."

"Hold it! But I saw it! I saw someone holding a gun! And Mr. Wright screamed, and they shot at Charley!"

"There was someone with a gun, indeed. It was Mr. Wright."

"M-Mr. Wright…what?"

"Oh, one of the guns had his prints, he probably wanted to use the gun as a warning when he saw Mr. Justice being attacked and he shot Charley…he screamed due to panic? "added Ray.

"Nonsense, he had never fired a gun before. And his scream was from pain. "Phoenix holding a gun? That was an unbelievable picture for Apollo, but Debeste crossed his arms very similarly to Edgeworth when he was deep in thought.

"There you have your answer. The recoil of the gun has bad effects on those who fire them for the first time… Mr. Wright had a broken wrist, right? This is a pretty big gun, I'm sure it's capable of that."

"I can't believe it…why…how he got the gun in the first place? "asked Apollo, feeling chills just thinking about the answer.

"He's not a bad man, in fact, this is a piece of evidence he requested not so long ago for unknown reasons, he may have had it by chance. But with the fourth person out, nobody else is left but the defendant, she was undercover and her first try to kill the victim failed, so she followed him and finished the job at the Prosecutor's Offices. "Debeste leaned on the bench, putting both hands on it and looking at Lamiroir. "But then, he survived, and guess who was the first to visit him at the hospital. "The photo Athena obtained in the hospital, Debeste had studied the evidence really good.

"Hold it! "a strong voice resounded, making sure everybody listens, Ray smashed his desk with one fist. "You're running at conclusions really fast, you don't even have solid bases to accuse my client, she was never seen and the prints could have been left in another occasion. What's more, she has no motive, she doesn't even know Mr. Wright at all."

"Mr. Shields, I thought you were better informed than this, I'm a bit disappointed to say the least, did you know that she sued him and her demand is active right now?"

"A sue on Mr. Wright? For what? "asked the Judge intrigued.

"Custody."

"Custody? What the…for Trucy?!" Apollo opened his eyes widely, he remembered the case in which they meet Lamiroir, then all the times she sent flowers to Trucy…something clicked on his mind. "Oh my God, are you... her mother?"

"Indeed, and she had been fighting for her custody for a month, Mr. Wright is winning the case, so I think she has a reason to put him out of commission, do you have anything to—" Debeste was interrupted by his phone ringing, he answered quickly but didn't said a word, just a minute later he ended the call and composed himself. "My apologies, now, has the defendant anything to say in her defense?"

While he was talking he started to play with his baton, hitting softly the bench with it with a certain rhythm, Lamiroir looked at the ground.

"I…use my plea of silence. I'm sorry Mr. Shields, but I can't say a thing, for her…" answered Lamiroir.

The gallery started to murmur and talk uncontrollably, forcing the Judge to call a recess. The team reunited at the Defendant lobby with all sorts of looks on their faces.

"What the heck is happening? Is she really the culprit? Mr. Wright with a gun?! Mr. Edgeworth! Mr. Debeste is shoving away all our theories with just a wave of his baton! "claimed Athena, but Edgeworth seemed strangely composed. "Wait…you knew it! You knew our theories were all wrong!"

"No, Ms. Cykes, but I think Debeste is right. We needed another point of view, this trial is a lot faster than I expected, our true culprit is still in the shadows and we're still tied up. We need time Mr. Shields…"

"I'm doing what I can but that boy is good, he's directly for his prey!"

"He's smart, but tends to not notice the most obvious things, the defendant is clearly being threatened as well, but she won't say a word. I need you to do me a favor Mr. Shields, when we go back put your hat on the bench for a while, touch your badge and put on your hat again."

"What's in your mind Miles? This feels like a thing a super spy would do…"

"Indeed, it's a secret signal. We are bluffing our positions, remember? Debeste also had good news for us: Agent Lang is acting quickly, he managed to reduce the area in which they could have the hostages, he will call when he gets news."

"You fool old fox, that Debeste boy was doing code Morse with his foolish baton wasn't he?!" Franziska was trying not to scream but she looked menacingly at Edgeworth, he just shook his shoulders.

"We can't risk ourselves."

Edgeworth felt somebody tugging his suit and looked to see who was, Peals looked at him worried.

"Mr. Edgeworth, have you seen Taka? I had him in the hospital but he tried to fly and I lost him…I'm worried."

"I think he will be fine, he is very smart, did you know that he waited for Blackquill for eight years hidden in this very courtroom?"

"Really? He's amazing!"

"Yes, he is.

The bailiff entered announcing that the trial was about to start, before returning to the gallery Edgeworth stopped Apollo.

"Mr. Justice, I know that you are shaken but in this trial it's possible that you will hear information that will be hard to swallow, I need you to be strong. For the defendant and… for Trucy. "Apollo nodded, unable to put his feelings into words. Edgeworth patted his back. "I know you can do it."

Miles smiled to him and made him felt ready, he finally had Mr. Chief Prosecutor on his side.

"I'll be fine…this just began Mr. Edgeworth, let's do this, for Mr. Wright..."

 **December 26, ?**

 **?**

Hours and hours passed and Tigre still watched over them, he seemed so entertained and was very rude, but it looked like he was the only one there.

It was hard to know how much time had passed, but the things weren't looking good, Simon had closed his eyes and his head fell forward, he didn't respond at all.

"He needs help! Please! "begged Ema, Tigre was eating an apple on his chair and just looked at him without a pinch of worry.

"It seems to me like he's just sleeping."

"An entire day? Jesus Christ! Are you blind or what? "

Tigre laughed and threw the remains of his apple to Simon's head, he expected him to react but nothing happened.

"Crap, if he's dead I'll be in a big trouble…" he got close and kicked him" Hey, Bird Man, it's morning already. "he had no answer, so he inclined over to check him and then he was surprised by a strong head-butt right in the jaw that rendered him unconscious. Simon groaned.

"It's your turn, phoenix chick…"

"Roger that! "Trucy suddenly looked so happy, she untied herself in the blink of an eye and then helped Ema, who had a very surprised look on her face.

"Prosecutor Blackquill! You scared me to death!" Ema cried.

"That was my intention. Humans react like that by instinct, we tend to check on those seemingly dead to prevent our own death, but that Tigre seemed a bit heartless. Luckily you freaked out."

"So you used me!"

"Yeah, kinda. "Trucy giggled, Ema now was mad.

"You knew! "complained Ema.

"I can also perceive" she said that last word making her voice deeper and putting two of her fingers in peace sign on her forehead, Ema tried to contain her laugh.

"That's the best impersonation I have seen of Red Lawyer."

"I know! But Simon made it a lot easier."

"He's that transparent?"

"No, he chuckled twice."

He laughed softly and put on his feet, he groaned and led one hand to his wounded shoulder.

"Let's get out of here."

Trucy tied Tigre with the best knot she knew and took Phoenix's locket back, she held it like she was carrying the very soul of her father, her fathers actually, both Zak and Phoenix had loved that thing and always carried it with them.

They exited the room and found themselves in what looked like a warehouse, all dark and cold. They walked with caution but then they heard steps going in their direction, Ema pushed her friends to another door until the steps faded, when they were about to left the place something moved on the room.

"Is…somebody there? "the voice sounded so raspy and tired that it made them feel chills, Ema jumped.

"In heaven's name…" she ran and looked for the source of the voice, finding someone tied to a chair and with a bag on the head. "What are you doing here? Are you okay? Oh my god…"

"Detective Skye? Are you actually worried about me?"

"Shut up or I'll leave you right there!"

She retired the bag. He looked so tired, so weak, but still fancy as hell.

"Prosecutor Gavin!"


	20. Turnabout Legacy (Part 2)

**December 26, 12:35 pm**

 **Courtroom No. 4**

Back in the trial, just starting Ray did what Edgeworth told him to, as soon as he put his hat on the bench Debeste nodded.

"So, based on your theories and the evidence presented, the verdict is ready to be handed down."

"It is, your Honor, however, in order to do my best, I have to clarify all the points of our case. There's still a loose end, or should I say…there was, right, defendant?"

"Mr. Debeste, I beg you to be clear in your accusations, not all of us are aware of what's going on that head of yours." Said the Judge.

"Of course. When Mr. Wright was attacked, a single witness saw it all."

"What? Are you serious Mr. Debeste? You will call him to the stand?"

"It's not him, but her, your Honor, unfortunately, she's dead. "Debeste showed the report to the court" a girl named Iris, she escaped the prison even when she was about to finish her sentence and found her death in a dark alley."

"That's terrible! Why she did that? Escaping from prison…" asked a very pale Judge.

"She wanted to warn Mr. Wright. The handwriting on the envelope it's hers, based on her size, weight and clothes we also confirmed that the marks at the window are hers. Ergo, she used the window days prior to deliver this warning to Mr. Wright. And if my reports are correct, she was present in the office the very day of the attack, we can confirm that if Mr. Justice testifies. "he smashed his palm on the table. "She was a loose end, a witness, and she had to be silenced by the killer."

"Objection! You don't have proofs that my client killed her."

"That's where you are wrong. Here, the autopsy report of Ms. Iris… the bullet that took her life came from the very same weapon that shot Mr. Justice…the same with the defendant's prints."

Everyone gasped in the gallery, the Judge ordered silence.

"No…it wasn't me, I swear…I-I touched the gun, but I didn't shoot anyone…you have to believe me! "said Lamiroir, scared. She had risked to say a little, Ray knew it was his opportunity.

"She visited Mr. Wright frequently because of her demand, she could have touched the gun any other time, you have no way to prove when were the prints put on the gun and she wasn't seen at all the day of the crime. She visited Mr. Wright in the hospital without hurting him, she didn't do it!"

"Urk! "Debeste bent his baton almost like he wanted to break it, he started to sweat a lot. "But it only could have been her! Who else?!"

"I was waiting for you to ask…" Ray showed the photo Mia obtained from the real crime scene, the word Engarde glowing in red. Ray smiled with confidence. "Matt Engarde."

"Engarde?! But he was dead, that's nonsense! It's just a fake clue to mislead us, just like all the blood writings showed in this court!"

"Under normal circumstances I would agree, however, our victim knew something this court still ignores."

"What?! Enlighten us, Defense Lawyer!"

"Spirit channeling. Iris belonged to a family with such powers…"

"Oh! The Fey Clan! Now I remember, the case of the burning bridge, oh, that poor girl…" lamented the Judge almost crying.

"And one of the prison inmates is, indeed, a Fey…I call Morgan Fey to the stand!"

Debeste, even if he was overwhelmed, had no objections. Morgan had been recaptured just the day prior after the shooting at the Detention Center and taking her to the stand didn't take long, in just a couple of minutes the witch was facing the court once again.

"Oh, I see new faces, a change it's good once in a while…" she said, looking at both the defense and prosecution. "I was expecting to see the Blue Lawyer that loves to stick his nose in my family issues."

"Oh, but you will see him soon enough, after all he's still around. "that seemed careless, but was actually a war declaration, that case had to end right there, no more games.

"Ms. Fey, the Defense claims that you were involved in the murder of Iris, you have something to say?"

"Yes, the defense is such a heartless beast…" she started to cry" Iris was my daughter, I wouldn't do such thing, I can't even think about it…oh my poor girl…"

"I'm all but heartless, my lady, I understand perfectly what a mother can do for her children, I'm not accusing you at all, actually. But you're the only one who could have let it happen. "Morgan looked at Ray with so much poison, but he just gulped and continued. "Matt Engarde. Iris left his name written with her last breath and it couldn't be by chance, nobody else could have written the message and casually put that name."

"Engarde is pretty famous, I'm sure everyone is talking about his death right now."

"That's where you are wrong. That information isn't of common knowledge, just the authorities know about it, and the prison inmates. She wrote it, no one else."

"Ugh…what about the culprit? It could have been another inmate."

"The culprit tried to hide the writing, if it were false they just could have leave it and we would discard it being a dead man's name. But given the circumstances, you're the perfect suspect, don't you think? You channeled him to kill her, and if that's the case, you may be involved in the attack to Mr. Wright as well, you seem not so fond of him."

She looked mad, but just sighed and crossed her arms.

"You have no evidence to prove it. Evidence is everything in court."

Ray froze on his tracks, he was so close to uncover the truth but she was right, she would never admit it. What should he do now?

"If the Defense is correct, there's still a hole in your logic, Mr. Shields. "Debeste waved his baton again. "The gun that killed Iris was the same that hurt Mr. Justice, and if Ms. Fey really wanted everyone dead she couldn't have been the culprit at the office given the fact that Mr. Wright escaped. So, let's assume that the defendant was in the attack to the Agency, and Ms. Fey the one who killed Iris, how did the gun moved?"

Ray was thinking hard, Sebastian had a point and seemed really important, the gun was the key, it wasn't found on any of the crime scenes so it was definitely at the hands of the true culprit until it found its way to the prosecution. Finally, he come up with an idea.

"Ms. Lamiroir, I need you to talk, please, I swear that whatever could have happened has a solution. But you can't keep quiet anymore…"

"What are you talking about, Mr. Shields…?"

"What the Prosecutor says is the truth, you had the weapon in your hands at some point and that's undeniable. But it ended up at Iris killer's hands, and you know who it was…please…"

Lamiroir hugged herself strongly, looking at the ground.

"I stand by my plea…I'm so sorry Mr. Shields… I can't."

"I like you, you know exactly where you are. "said Morgan to Lamiroir, smiling. "I understand you perfectly, a son is like a piece of heaven, we would do anything for them, for see them safe and happy…you're quite admirable…" she was so blatant, most likely responding to Ray's war declaration. "We have you right where we want" was explicit in her words.

The court was silent, the Judge doesn't know what to say anymore and both the defense and prosecution felt like they had hit a dead end.

But not yet.

(Song I recommend for this tiny bit: watch?v=NA-tSeu4MTA&index=13&list=PL6akIKaXBeU2DOHHC9iMdOJxFTySBAspG)

"OBJECTION!"

The strong scream resounded in the entire courtroom and ringed in the walls like a sound that had always belonged in there, that very scream that filled so many hearts with fear, uneasiness or even hope and salvation over so many years. The strong voice of a man of unbreakable will, one ready to finally reach justice…and the truth.

"They won't hold us anymore, Ms. Gramarye. "there he was, back at the prosecution bench just by Debeste's side, even wounded and bandaged his tall figure still stood strong in the courtroom, his cravat being his eternal signature. Miles Edgeworth was back. He smiled and lead a finger to his temple. "They found her!"

 **December 26,?**

 **?**

"What are you doing here? "asked Trucy while untying Klavier, as soon as he was free he massaged his wrists.

"Kidnapped, it seems. I don't know exactly how much time has passed but I remember going to buy Christmas presents, but as soon as I abandoned the Prosecutors Office somebody attacked me, I fell unconscious and woke up here with a bag on my head."

"Prosecutor Gavin…" said Trucy reproaching him. "I thought we were close enough to not lie to each other."

"Me, lying? "he never stopped smiling, it's so hard to know exactly what's going on in his head, but he had a very noticeable tic.

"When you said that you exited the Prosecutors Office you touched your hair."

"Ja? And how exactly that shows that I'm lying? "Klavier had never acted so defensive, he's always so kind and nice, so it definitely touched a nerve. But he was right, what did it meant?

Trucy remembered talking with Apollo in the past, he had noticed the very same tic but had never found a reason for it, he associated it with Klavier being Klavier and didn't take it seriously, but under the actual context seemed out of place, what could he associate with his hair that triggered such a defensive position? Trucy thought and thought until she remembered the case in which he confronted his brother, Klavier never let anybody notice but that case took its toll on him, the two brothers seemed troubled but knowing that the brother you thought you knew was always wearing a mask has to leave a mark.

Kristoph and Klavier. They look very alike, didn't them? How bad is the pain Klavier is still bearing?

"Your hair…" Trucy looked at him. "Is like your brother's. You remember your brother and then you touch it, right? "Klavier looked at the ground and his smile faded, Trucy was right. "You saw your brother that time, the day you were kidnapped."

"Yes…at the Detention Center. I wanted to congratulate him for Christmas…just when I arrived somebody else was leaving, it was your father."

"What? Daddy saw Mr. Gavin at prison? I didn't know."

"Wait wait, he saw Mr. Wright and didn't warned him about the attack that was planned against him? He told us clearly that he knew way before and wrote the letter, but he has no way to deliver it! "said Ema.

"An attack on Phoenix Wright? What happened? "asked Klavier with a slight tone of worry.

"Wright-dono was shot in Chief Prosecutor's office, he's currently in a coma."

"Shot? Oh my…" Klavier put his hands on his head, he looked terrified, almost like he was the culprit. Ema tried to comfort him but he lifted his head and murmured" I need to go to the police, I need to declare now... I may know what happened."

"Seriously?! How?!"

"Sorry Detective Skye, I can tell you yet."

"Can you stand on your own? "asked Simon.

"My leg hurts badly, I think it's broken…"

Simon helped him to get up and walked with him until the exit, where a masked man intercepted them with a gun in hand.

"So he was bluffing after all. "it was a man's voice, deep and old, he shot at the ground as a warning. "I won't hesitate, stay exactly where you are or Mr. Phoenix Wright will have company at the other side, Tigre good for nothing. Kneel down, NOW!"

They had no option but to obey, the girls felt so frustrated and scared, they almost did it. If only Trucy had waited before confronting Klavier they could have done it…if just…

"Get down…NOW! "He shot again, Simon hasn't moved from his place and was still helping Klavier.

"What if I don't? "said Simon in his typical and confident voice, he was smiling.

"Dear God Blackquill not now, please! "yelled Klavier.

"Now is the perfect time Gavin-dono, he doesn't have the courage to shot us, or he has to keep us alive against his will."

The man shot again, this time to the wall next to Klavier.

The next goes to your head! You have three to get down!"

"There's no next…" Simon carefully put down Klavier and started walking slowly towards the masked one. "You have a very strong revolver here, I know it, you stole it from a very clumsy official. But it's all you have. "the man was getting mad, he didn't hesitate even for a second and pulled the trigger aiming right at Simon's head. But to his surprise, nothing happened, Simon smiled and continued. "Six bullets. I saw you before… you shot two at Taka and stopped because your bullets were limited, then one was for me…and three just for show because you are a coward!"

"You bastard! "the man then pulled out a knife and tried to stab Blackquill, but he was quick and managed to stop him in time. The man, however, didn't plan to lose, so he punched Simon's wounded shoulder and immobilized him from the pain, with his opponent down he prepared to deliver the finishing blow. Blackquill couldn't react at all, Ema held Trucy to prevent her from getting hurt and closed her eyes not wanted to see the Hawk Prosecutor being killed right in front of her…

But that never happened.

A small thing came across the door and launched itself into the face of the man, leaving Simon alone to recover and creating a distraction. The man slashed his knife aimlessly until Ema took the chair where Klavier was tied and smashed it in the head on the masked one. He didn't fell unconscious but it was enough to let him unable to move.

Trucy ran and tied the man while Simon looked at what had saved him, lying bloody in the ground, the thing moved and looked at him with its tiny yellow eyes.

"Taka…you found me. "Simon kneeled and took the hawk in his hands, almost like if it was made of sand. "It's all going to be all right partner, thank you…" he noticed that Taka had reopened a wound on his wing and that was why he was bleeding, the masked man hadn't landed a single hit at him.

"So the bird was right after all! What a wonderful pet! "someone entered the room right after, dressed funny but followed by a pair of guys in suit.

"He's not a pet…" growled Simon.

"He's not, we followed him as he tracked you, Mr. Blackquill, he's nothing but a brave and loyal soul, same as my partners here! My name is Shi Long Lang, Interpol Agent and functionary of Zheng Fa. I have come to rescue you by Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth's orders. But I see you have the situation under control. Let's get out of here. "he took his cellphone and called Debeste. "Agent Lang here! We found Wright's pup, tell Mr. Edgeworth right now."

Lang hanged the phone, next he looked at the masked man and pulled the mask off, revealing a face he wasn't expecting to see.

"Blaise Debeste, your old rat! It's not possible, your name wasn't in the list of the prisoners that escaped…what did you do?"

"Casting doubt on me again? It makes me so sad Agent Lang, so so sad…" he really was crying.

"Silence! You dare to make a drama? You? "Simon was mad. "I'll prosecute you personally and make sure you get the death penalty this time."

"Oh, but I had it already, I have literally nothing to lose, no one of us has, and we haven't lost yet."

"Spit everything Debeste! "said Lang, Blaise just smiled.

"He's still watching, our mastermind…"

"They introduced a virus on the police system, there has been altered reports, lost information and strange things since we started the investigation. "said Ema, Simon and her discovered that but never had the chance to communicate it.

"But that's impossible, no virus can enter the system without us noticing. "clarified Lang." We developed the systems after the infamous Mc Bomber, nobody outside of the police can enter."

"Outside of the police "murmured Klavier and checked all of his pockets. "I'm empty, they stole all of my cards and identifications. They could have acceded with that."

"I'll block your access right now; you will have problems Prosecutor Gavin. Very smart of you all, Debeste."

Debeste now looked scared, they had found out easier than he expected.

"Agent Lang, why were you sent instead of Detective Gumshoe? "asked Trucy" How's my dad?"

"Your dad is still asleep, but we had a lot of trouble. Prosecutor Edgeworth was threatened and put out of commission, he has a trial today to find the culprit."

"Wait, that means that he had a suspect? Who?"

"I can't remember the name, was something funny, but she's a singer, surely you have heard that song: Guitar, guitar…"

"Lamiroir?!" yelled both Trucy and Klavier, startling Lang.

"Yeah, her."

"You must take us to the courtroom Agent Lang, now! "Klavier was sweating a lot now, he tried to get on his feet without success. "I need to talk, there's no way they will find the true culprit, we have to go now!"

Nobody asked a thing, instead, they all moved quickly and abandoned the place. Just before going they heard the loud laugh of Debeste.

"You know well who did it right, Klavier? "Klavier ignored him and walked away with the help of the men in suits, Debeste shouted like a mad man. "You will always live at his shadow! Always!"


	21. Turnabout Legacy (Part 3)

**December 26, 12:35 pm**

 **Courtroom No. 4**

"They found her! We will now uncover the truth of this case, once and for all! "Edgeworth seemed so defiant, Debeste looked at him surprised as well as Ray looked at the two young attorneys taking their place beside him at the Defense Bench, Lamiroir cried and put a hand on her chest.

"You're bluffing! You can't even look for anything! "exclaimed a very angry Morgan, Edgeworth just smiled and lifted his shoulders.

"I'm not the bluffing attorney. So, you really are watching all of us over, I request to this court to analyze the Police System, your Honor, it's a matter of national security."

"Request granted, bailiff, examine that thing now!"

The true thing was that Edgeworth was really bluffing, he hasn't received a confirmation from Debeste yet, but he couldn't leave this end and Agent Lang is already looking for Trucy, he had a bad time taking the decision. It wasn't time to show how scared he was.

"Now, while we tie up our loose ends, how about you talk now Ms. Gramarye? I know you have quite a lot to tell us."

"Thank you Mr. Edgeworth, oh god…I can't thank you enough…" it took her a couple of minutes to compose herself, but she smiled sadly before her face changed, reflecting pure regret. "They came to me a month ago, they told me that I had to ruin Mr. Wright's life in every possible way or they would kill Trucy. I panicked, my first mistake was consulting him, I just talked with him through letters because I was being watched, they constantly send pictures of me in the street or the numbers of the persons I talked to... I just wanted him to protect Trucy but he was the one who proposed me to sue him, that would keep them distracted while he investigated the culprit. But they caught him and told me that I had to kill him…they gave me the gun and a limited time or they would kill us all…" she was crying again. "I was supposed to meet him that night, he sent me a message telling me to see him sooner than planned and I thought it was my only opportunity so I went… I disguised myself, entered the office and pointed at him with the gun… he asked me to stop, he told me that he had a family…I couldn't pull the trigger even if I wanted to, I was about to ran away when Apollo entered and tried to stop me, we struggled for a moment and then the gun fired by itself…." she couldn't look at Apollo in the face, but he was eager to keep listening, encouraging her to dry her tears and continue. "I saw Mr. Wright taking the gun from an evidence bag right when Apollo was fighting, when our gun fired he got nervous and shot too, I didn't saw where his bullet landed but he hurt himself with the recoil, I ran away…I don't know what happened after that. I was intercepted in the street not so long after by a man with many scars on his face, he took the gun and said "You will live to see your mistakes" … and I see now, he was telling the truth…"

Right at the end, Debeste's phone rang. He answered, looked at Edgeworth and wrote in the air with his baton "They found them". Everybody in the benches sighed in relief, completely free at last.

"You did nothing wrong. "assured Apollo, smiling at her. "I'm fine! And you didn't shoot Mr. Wright."

"You stopped me, thanks to you I didn't commit the biggest mistake of my life. Thank you, Apollo…"

He smiled trying to calm her, the Judge got moved to tears.

"So, it truly was Matt Engarde. We confirmed it with this testimony and the bloody writing, only you are capable of such a feat, Ms. Fey." Assured Edgeworth.

"Mr. Edgeworth! You ruined the mood! "said Athena.

"It's fine, we are still in a trial, and if what he says is true we may have found our culprit." Said Apollo.

"You are still as rushed and dumb as when we started. I'm not the only one capable of channeling spirits that was there, as much as I don't want to admit it, Mystic Maya was also there. She was the first to find the victim, right? Why do you think it was? She channeled Engarde and left him do as he wanted, at the end, he shot Mr. Wright and left her just to defend him and play dumb, don't you think Prosec—"

"Stop! "a sudden scream filled the courtroom, but it wasn't of one of the present at the Defense or Prosecution. The girl raised from her place in the gallery, crying badly. "Why are you like that? Why you accuse Mystic Maya of these horrible things! She hasn't left Mr. Nick's side since then and would never be capable of hurting him…you just want to win and that's so rude…why? Why mom?"

"Pearl! What are you doing here? "Morgan paled, all the color draining from her body and leaving a porcelain statue in her place.

"Rooting for Mr. Edgeworth and Mr. Nick…unlike you, Mystic Maya is innocent! I have photos she sent me when she was at the train, she was never there…please mom, don't make things harder…please. "and then Pearls exited the courtroom, Gumshoe went immediately after her to Edgeworth's relief, but Morgan stayed frozen like if her soul just abandoned her. An uncanny breakdown to say the least.

"I channeled Engarde and he killed Iris, nothing more. I ran away thinking that I could escape and finally watch my daughter earn the position she was born to take, but the leader called to prepare the ambush at the Detention Center and I lost it all…"

"So, you indirectly killed the girl. Then, how the gun that was in your hands arrived to the Prosecutors' Offices? "asked Debeste, Morgan just nodded sadly.

"That I honestly don't know, the leader asked to left the evidence at a Russian Club, he did all the things after."

"The Borscht Club…" murmured Edgeworth feeling a sudden pinch where he was hurt, remembering him of the trap.

"Ms. Lamiroir, Ms. Fey. Who is the leader? "asked Ray, both of them had mentioned someone behind all, the one who gave the orders and planned it all.

"I never saw him, he menaced me with the pictures and scared me enough. "said Lamiroir.

"We didn't saw him either, but he told us that his name was Gavin."

"Gavin! Whaaat?!" screamed Edgeworth, Apollo smashed his fist on the bench.

"Bring Mr. Gavin to the stand now!"

"Bailiff, you heard him!"

A small recess was granted, but nobody dared to talk, nobody had a clear grasp on the situation anymore, Apollo couldn't stop walking nervously in the lobby and the team was now divided in prosecution and defense. Lamiroir's accusation was already cleared, but the Judge himself had no intention of leaving the case in there.

Back in the trial they faced again with the kindest face of the devil itself, he was wearing prison clothes but still standing proud and confident.

"Mr. Justice, Mr. Edgeworth, we see each other again. I thought we had clarified this situation."

"Mr. Gavin, we are not here to play your games. You will confess now. "Apollo sounded so cold, so done. Kristoph laughed softly.

"This is absurd, you got the wrong Gavin. I was in prison the entire time. "right there, Apollo's bracelet reacted.

"You are lying…"

"Oh, can you prove it? You saw another demon in my hand? Check the cameras, I was there all the time."

"The mastermind had access to the police records, modificate them wouldn't be hard."

"Nothing is easy in prison, believe me, why don't you check? "the bailiff came running with a bunch of papers which he delivered to Debeste. He put one hand on his mouth when he looked at them.

"He…he's right, Agent Lang discovered an anomaly a few moments ago and blocked the access of an account, the owner is Klavier Gavin."

"Klavier… no, that can be, there's no way. "said Apollo closing his eyes and fists, he can't even imagine him committing such a crime.

"Only a Prosecutor or a member of the police can access to the system going unnoticed, the gun appeared at the Prosecutors' Offices and the crime itself was committed there. All our clues point to a Prosecutor being our culprit, but…Klavier Gavin? "elaborated Edgeworth under the curious look of everyone in the courtroom.

"I told you that you have the wrong Gavin. If this is what your precious logic makes you conclude, why denying it?"

"You seem eager to point at culprits here, nobody has more motive to see Mr. Wright dead than you, you said it yourself. "argued Apollo.

"I haven't told such thing, everything outside of court is irrelevant. I just want to cooperate with you, my brother is very troubled lately, I can't blame him."

"Prosecutor Gavin has no motive!"

"Are you sure? How well do you know him? A couple of trials being rivals aren't the same as a whole life. His relationship with Phoenix Wright isn't in the best of terms, you know?"

"Prosecutor Gavin was the one who accused Mr. Wright of forgery and stripped him of his badge, they never saw each other even since."

"That's true, but you are ignoring something crucial. When I was first condemned you put me in prison thanks to a dirty trick, forged evidence, no less."

"Y-you knew…"

"Yes, I had always known. You know why I didn't pursue the matter further? Because it would surely cost you your badge, you, my only protégé. You had a lot of future ahead, Phoenix Wright shielded himself in you, in that fact, so I had no choice but to accept it. However, Klavier never accepted my fall, he too knows the true nature of Wright and wanted to present charges against him, sadly, no one listened to him…the Chief Prosecutor also protects Wright, it's not easy to get him."

"That's not true, I make no exceptions. "defended Edgeworth, Klavier nodded.

"Are you sure? You used all of your influences to get his badge back, he convinced you of testing the Jury System for that specific trial and no other else, he gets hurt and all the country moves to find a sole culprit. Phoenix Wright does as he wants with this system, that's the truth nobody wants to face."

"You should be ashamed, talking like that about someone who is convalescent at the moment, I thought better of you, Mr. Gavin. "this time the Judge was the one who talked, leaving everyone at a sudden silence. "as a judge my duty is to remain impartial, however…I'd like to talk for a moment, not as a Judge but as myself. "he left his gavel to rest and looked at the audience. "Mr. Wright is a curious man to say the least, but he's far from being the monster you're making him look like. I have never met a person with a bigger heart than him, he's a beloved father, mentor, friend and a respectable professional. If half a country is trying to seek justice to his case is because he won each and every one of them just by being himself…not by cheats and tricks, so please, avoid making comments like that, at least while I'm present."

"He won them? Surely you are aware that he not only gained friends and allies, but also a lot of enemies."

"Yes, it's only natural, after all he's a man of justice…and a loyal follower of the truth. "the Judge then took his gavel back, Athena was crying as well as the most part of the gallery, Edgeworth just had his arms crossed and lids down, listening. For Apollo it was a weird thing, he was so accustomed to hear people lying that when he heard someone speaking so sincerely and from the bottom of their hearts he couldn't help but feel reconforted and filled with joy.

"You know, your Honor? That just sounded like Wright's Requiem. "said Kristoph, provoking chills on all the presents.

"You're taking this trial the way you want, Mr. Gavin, I will not allow such thing. "Edgeworth on attack mode again.

"So, Mr. Edgeworth, as you heard, Klavier has a motive as well and pretty solid evidence against him. Isn't your duty to proceed in his prosecution?"

"OBJECTION! "the new voice came by surprise but as they saw the very Klavier Gavin entering the courtroom a sudden agitation was present, he was walking with the help of crutches and looked very tired. He planted himself just in front of his brother. "Why are you doing this? Accusing me just like that. Does our blood means nothing at all, you at least cared about me once?"

Kristoph remained as calm as ever, looking as his beaten brother with his cold eyes.

"It didn't matter to you when you prosecuted me. What does it matter now?"

"I heard everything you said, Debeste never hanged up his phone! It is true that I wanted to confront Phoenix Wright, but as soon as more things came into the light I thought that what had happened was for the better, you got what you deserved! And…and yet…" Klavier changed his mad face to one full if sadness, like he had given up. "I thought that you could change, I wanted to help you, to give you another chance because…you are my brother, I remember all our lives and…I thought that I owed you…" Klavier started crying, looking at the ground. "but…you used me, you used me to reach your vengeance once again…is that everything I am to you?"

"What are you talking about? where were you Prosecutor Gavin? "asked Apollo, Simon got close and explained.

"Prosecutor Gavin was kidnapped almost a week ago, all of his belongings were stolen and used to modificate official documents and personally watch everything, he is innocent."

"You did it! You shot Phoenix Wright! "yelled Klavier to his brother. "I know you did! You used my data to control everything as you liked, you organized that bunch of people to give the hit, you saw Mr. Wright the same day as me, if anyone else would have planned his murder you should have warned him because you want to be the one!"

"So then why he wrote the letter if he saw him face to face? "asked Apollo.

"To give himself an alibi, we discarded him from our list as soon as he declared. A clever move…" said Edgeworth, his fist was in the bench and he was sweating bullets.

"So he had to be at a crime scene but he isn't, what does it mean?"

"He sent someone else or he erased all of his tracks, we may be losing something. "said Ray looking thoroughly into the evidence.

Trucy held high her father's pendant.

"We found this in the hands of one of the kidnappers, Furio Tigre, it's my father's pendant!"

"I already checked it out for fingerprints but there aren't any, it has blood on it and Agent Lang confirmed it to be Mr. Wright's, it should have reached the pendant when he was shot."

"Then how did it come to Furio's hands? "Athena thought hard. "It's a piece of evidence that you only could obtain at the crime scene itself, but no camera showed him and there's no other way to enter. Somebody else had to give it to him."

"This is no ordinary object." Apollo asked for the pendant and Trucy gave it to him, he opened it and showed to the courtroom the photo of Trucy." this isn't very valuable, is not made of gold or some fancy material, and you only know it's true value if you open it…Mr. Wright surely has shown it to a lot of people, but only a few knew the history of this locket and why it's one of his most appreciated possessions; Mr. Wright himself, Trucy, myself and Mr. Gavin…only these people could have taken intentionally the locket."

Kristoph laughed as he looked at everybody.

"Sadly, evidence is everything in court. You want to hang me with that simple pendant? Fine, but you have nothing to prove your claim, do you?"

"Evidence…" Klavier then turned to Apollo. "please tell me that you have something…"

Not even Edgeworth was prepared for that, it was the critical moment of the trial, everything or nothing.

However, it looked like Kristoph had won…it was true, they had nothing else. They had discussed everything, build up every point and discovered everything…but the final stone was lost, the truth remained out of reach…now what?

As every Ace Attorney game, this story has two endings, one good and one bad. It all depends on the last choice the team will take, which it will be?

1) Present the last piece of evidence left. (Read Final Chapter: Vengueance and its Epilogue (Chapters 22 &23))

2) Ask for a recess. (Read Final Chapter: The Longest Night and its Epilogue(Chapters 24 & 25))


	22. Vengueance

If you chose "Present the last piece of evidence".  
Bluffing instead of thinking carefully, it seems.

 **1) Present the last piece of evidence**

 **Final Chapter: Vengeance.**

 **December 26, 3:20 pm**

 **Courtroom No. 4**

The three defense lawyers stopped checking the evidence, it was useless. Edgeworth just covered his face, trying to think in something they missed, another day of investigation had no sense, they had looked into every nook and cranny and yet they couldn't reach the end…

Athena held back her tears and looked at her badge, still shiny and, as a wave of memories flooded her mind, she did the first thing that came into it and take out her badge, showing it to the courtroom.

"You are…presenting your attorney's badge?" said Debeste, incredulous.

"I expected more, to be honest. Why are you showing it?" said Kristoph.

She was about to ran away, she didn't know what she was doing anymore and just felt like it, but then Apollo did the same.

"Mr. Wright uses to present his badge to every person he meets, at first I thought it had no sense and was because he was used to…but then I understood his true reason, he truly loves his work, he loves to help people and arrive at the truth as the ultimate end…Athena and I are here carrying his light, his legacy, but…we failed him…just when he needs us the most."

Athena stared at Phoenix' badge, laying quietly on the bench as part of the evidence, it was weird seeing it so still, so alone. The item next to it was more lively but terrifying; it was the locket, the blood on it gave chills to Athena and she preferred not to look at it, however, as soon as she aparted her sight something ringed amiss in her head.

"Wait…" she took the two little things.

"What's wrong Athena? You discovered something?" asked Apollo.

"Mr. Wright always wears both of this things in his chest, right? Then, why the locket has blood on it but the badge is all clean?"

"Maybe the blood just didn't reach it." guessed Ray. Apollo searched the photo of Phoenix in the ambulance and examined it closely.

"No, his suit was all covered in the front, even under the badge, look…"

"What? What's the meaning of this?"

(Song I recommend to listen: watch?v=3HgPCFJL9H4&list=PL6akIKaXBeU3hPzULIPfnFptaAsnEdNMN&index=48 )

"Daddy always says that there's a thing his mentor told him over and over again." said Trucy to the defense." think outside of the box! Flip your whole theory around!"

"We shouldn't ask why the badge has no blood on it, we may ask HOW is that there's no blood…" asserted Apollo, Athena's eyes shined in realization.

"The badge was put in its place after he was shot!"

"By who? Himself?"

"Detective Skye, examine that badge immediately!" requested Edgeworth. Ema didn't lose a second and dusted it for fingerprints.

"There's nothing!" everybody felt their souls dropping to the ground again." there are signs that shows that a print was actually wiped away…I'm sorry."

"Wait, then there was a fingerprint!" Apollo smashed his fist in the bench.

"Yeah b-but it's impossible to recover it…"

However, when Apollo lifted his head, he was smiling.

"It's natural to think that the killer wiped his prints, however…he didn't erase all…"

"Oh my god, just stop with the teasing!" exclaimed Debeste.

"When you put your badge on your lapel you don't touch only the front, but the pin on the back as well. If someone other than Mr. Wright put it, even if he wiped the front they had no way of cleaning the back without leaving more prints around!"

Ema waited for no order and dusted immediately, her eyes widening when she actually found the said print. While she checked the data base it was almost possible to hear the strong beating of the hearts of everyone present, full of a much desired hope and hungry for the truth…

"The print! It belongs to Kristoph Gavin!"

The gallery vitored like a football stadium, Apollo himself screamed of joy, it wasn't appropriated to celebrate that kind of thing in a courtroom so the Judge had to ask for order. However, even higher than the celebration there was another sound; a loud applause.

The people fell in silence, the only thing that perdured being the clapping sound, it came from the witness' section, where a new man stood where previously Morgan was, he was smiling widely.

"Congratulations! You solved the case!" yelled before he stopped applauding." You won…"

"Damon Gant!" Edgeworth paled.

"So tell me Edgey…" his face changed, showing the scarred and mad face of Engarde." you had fun playing this little game of ours?" he laughed just before changing again and again between the two men, mocking the entire court. They stopped and left Morgan who, if it weren't for Pearl, she would be smiling too. Gavin was laughing at the end.

"A slip on my part, but it's not like I have anything to lose, do I?" he composed himself in front of everybody." Yes, I shot Phoenix Wright."

(Song I recommend to watch?v=I8v3DPdTbzw&list=PL6akIKaXBeU0IQmTBSC01rGF9Ak0zmG0Q&index=7 )

Silence. A cold truth froze the hearts of everybody.

"As your prize, I will tell you a story. I heard everything you said and it was true; I orchestrated everything from my cell, there was so many people who wanted him dead that ignoring them would be a waste. We had many plans, and I was obliged to use three of them, I was never intended to participate actively. First, we kidnapped Klavier and with his ID we gained access to everything. Damon Gant, even dead, helped a lot with the police system, so we used it to control everything, give you false clues or just hiding the information we didn't want you to have yet. You deduced the case pretty well, everything until Wright running away from his Agency is correct, but that's all. The Plan A was making Ms. Gramarye to kill Wright, but then happened our first unexpected failure; you, Apollo. You had a good timing and avoided the first try.

Thalassa looked at the ground in shame.

"Then our plan B; Morgan Fey and Engarde were supposed to kill him, but he managed to run away and they got distracted by a witness. We put in march our plan C then. You had no way to know what actually happened because you ignored a pretty important detail." Kristoph seemed like he was having fun." If Wright broke his wrist firing a gun, then why was his watch broken as well? Not only that, it is stopped and shows a completely different time, a whole hour before you found him..."

They had been obligated to discard that clue due to others pointing to another time, they were sure that it only was a malfunction of the clock itself.

"Tigre intercepted him on his way to the Prosecutors' Offices by hitting him with a car, his bike was wrecked, right? Lucky as ever he was just a little beaten, then we took him to the Prosecutors' Offices…"

"Wait, that makes no sense, if it was an hour before I was still at my office, I just had called him. What's more, the photos of him entering the offices have a completely different time stamp, what you say is impossible." argued Edgeworth.

"Do you remember what I said about false clues? Well, that photos were forged, we entered a while before using the parking lot, nobody suspected a thing since we used Klavier's car and ID. You may know of the fact that Tigre and Wright look very alike—"

"Ngoohh! You!"

"I see you get it, we entered later doing the dramatic scene you saw, all I needed was your jacket and we were ready."

"Why? Why passing for that much unnecessary trouble?" asked Apollo.

"I told you, this was a game, we had to set up everything for your enjoyment, plus, maybe our little magician girl can help us a little here? What's the biggest trick a magician uses?"

"M-make them see things that apparently are here while you do the real trick…" answered Trucy.

"Correct. You had no way to know what had actually happened there if you played with a completely different evidence."

Right now, frustration was in the hearts of everyone involved, he had deceived them so easily…

"So, what we really did was entering Klavier's office and playing a little game of poker."

"Poker…" murmured both Trucy and Apollo remembering everything from almost four years ago.

"This time we bet; If he won I would leave him go, just like that, and never would chase him again. If he lost, I would kill him and then his loved ones. That last was more for scare him because that idiot cares more for you than himself, he ended up accepting."

"You lied to him! He has never lost!" yelled Trucy, Kristoph laughed.

"He lost the most important game of his life. But it wasn't his fault…he had no way to win, I had…" he pulled out something from under his sleeve and showed it to the court, everyone gasped." an ace under my sleeve…"

Said ace wasn't other but the bloody one that put him in prison, the only forged evidence Phoenix Wright has ever presented on purpose.

"He too paled when he saw it, he then knew that he never had a chance, but he didn't have a lot of time to try anything. As soon as I won Tigre stabbed him, his eyes widened in pain and he started trembling as he saw the blood, then he passed out, falling over the table. He wasn't supposed to die immediately, I left the knife in there to give us chance of forge the photos and the crime scene, finishing everything as we watched him die at his friend's office. The plan was pinning the murder on Edgeworth; his office, his knife, the timing, the photos, Maya testifying us exiting the room…but then our second unexpected thing happened…" Kristoph closed his fists strongly." Wright…he held so strongly to life, he woke up and tried to attack me with a gun he was carrying, I took it away from him and then Ms. Fey arrived, I shot at the door to scare her and then I couldn't contain my anger anymore…seeing him still fighting messed my nerves, "You never know when to give up, do you, Wright?" I yelled at him, I got close to held him and put the gun at his gut, I then pulled the trigger without even doubting… I'm really surprised that he's still alive, he looked pretty bad and bled a lot…when he fell to the floor he still had his eyes barely opened, something fell from his hand and I realized that it was his badge, if it's indeed the magnificent thing you describe he probably held it to encourage himself. It doesn't matter, I pulled out my gloves because they were covered in blood and I wanted to make fun of his shiny badge so I put it back on his lapel, wiped my prints and ran to the roof to hide the jacket and weapon while Tigre took away the car. I escaped as the police man and went back to my cell." he finished with a smile and crossed his arms." Any questions?"

Edgeworth was paler than usual and looked at him with so much fear, a face never seen before in the Prosecutor, he trembled when he spoke.

"How…" his voice broke, he tried to clean his throat." How the devil did you managed to escape from prison?"

"Oh, that, good for you to ask. The whole idea wasn't mine at the start, somebody wanted vengeance upon you, he desired nothing but to see you fall. Do you know who supervised the construction of the prison we were all caged?"

"Pops…" realized Debeste.

"Blaise…Debeste…" mumbled Edgeworth.

"He knew all the secret passages, all the weak points and guard's positions, it was like his home. As much as I hate to admit it, it wouldn't have been possible without him. He wanted to bury you and I wanted to kill Wright, all we had to do was cooperate, right?"

"You ordered them to kill Iris as well…" concluded Blackquill.

"She was a loose end, and if I remember correctly she and Wright were very close. Two birds on one shot."

"Why? Why did you do that Kristoph? You always were the smart one…the proud of the family…" he closed his eyes." Why after I tried so hard to help you?" asked Klavier.

"There are things that a human can't change, his nature for example. Some day you will understand."

"Four years had passed since all that happened, why now?" Apollo was mad, but tried to get hold on himself at least to know all he could.

Kristoph smiled.

"Because this was the happiest moment in his life."

Something inside of Edgeworth just broke, all that had happened was just to pull his limits and watch him suffer, to pin the murder of his best friend on him or his conscience, it was all his fault. He screamed and then smashed his fist with a lot of force on the bench, breaking it, his fist bled as well as a reopened wound on his head which was low.

"But, you know what? We aren't so different." everybody looked at him with so much hate, Gavin was enjoying that." Right now all you what is vengeance, you want to see me suffer like you are right now, but you can't do anything because the law you defend and trust so badly will punish you like you were the culprits. But that doesn't work on me, I'm already in prison, more years to my sentence? I need more than a life to fulfill those that I already have, the death penalty? Bring it on, I'm not scared anymore, I did what I wanted…"

He was provoking them, having fun and nobody being able to stop him because they knew that he was saying the truth. Apollo jumped from the bench like a tiger, unable to control himself, however he was interrupted by someone screaming from the gallery.

"No. Not all of us trust the law…" raised from his place was Simon Keyes, his teeth clenched but with tears streaming down from his face. He pulled out a gun and shot twice without hesitation to the one at the witness' stand, Kristoph fell heavily to the ground. Nobody moved because they were all petrified by fear and surprise, but even if someone had enough mercy to help the monster called Kristoph Gavin it would be to no avail, by the instant he touched the ground he was already dead.

The people on the gallery ran away, panicked, those at the benches stayed in their place, except one. Klavier ran as he could to his brother's side and kneeled beside him, crying.

The guards entered and took away Keyes, they emptied the courtroom in mere minutes, leaving them out to lick at their wounds and cope to everything that had happened so quickly…

The case was solved, but sometimes that doesn't mean that everything is better…


	23. Epilogue 1

**Epilogue: The Wright Way**

 **December 27, 1:25 am**

 **Hickfield Clinic**

Hours after the infernal trial, right in the midnight, Edgeworth was again at the hospital, they had checked him all over again and taken care of his wounds to finally let him rest. But he dressed himself in his suit and went to visit Phoenix, in his way he heard someone calling him.

"Mr. Edgeworth!" it was Apollo, he looked tired." are you okay?"

"I will be. I broke my finger but I didn't feel it until now."

"I didn't expect your reaction to be so…violent."

"It won't happen again."

"It wasn't your fault, neither mine or Mr. Wright's…that's what he wants you to believe, he was good manipulating people…"

"I know, but right now I'd like not to dwell so much on it."

They found Maya still in the room but now she was being accompanied by Trucy and Thalassa. The girl ran to hug Apollo while Thalassa approached Edgeworth, her intention to apologize written on her face.

"There is no need, I understand your reasons…" said Miles to her, then he looked at Trucy." She knows?" Thalassa nodded.

"I was so happy to know! I'd love to spend time with her and get along! But…" she looked sadly at her father." I can't abandon him, not now." She touched Phoenix's hand "I hope you can understand…"

"I expected so, you are everything for him and you love him so much, I couldn't ask for anyone better to take care of you, I owe him a lot. I can wait."

Trucy hugged her mother, making her cry and Edgeworth feel better.

"Ms. Gramarye…can I ask you a question?" said Apollo, she accepted." during the trial you called me by my name, but you had never saw me before and even when we defended Machi you only knew I was Mr. Justice"

"Oh, that's easy, you're pretty famous even here."

"Yes, but back at Kura'in and in the media I'm known as The Son of the Phoenix"

"Really?" asked Maya.

"No, I'm The Son of the Dragon, actually, but…" he pointed at a bracelet that was in Thalassa's wrist" I lied and you touched it…Dhurke used to say that my father talked wonders about my mother, that she had powers and knew about magic, that she had given me my bracelet…"

Trucy covered her mouth with her hands as soon as she realized what did he meant.

"Are…are you her? I-I mean, my mother?"

"I…don't think so…" as soon as Apollo felt his bracelet react he launched himself to hug her, she cried but hugged him as well.

"I found you… I thought I would never know who my mother was, I thought I had lost your track…I'm so happy to know that at least you are alive…"

"But then…Polly! You actually are my big bro! Oh my god I can't believe it!" Apollo smiled to her and invited her to join the hug and there were together at last. Maya clapped and Edgeworth couldn't help but smile.

"She…she told them without me, right?" everyone suddenly turned to the source of that voice and immediately felt their hearts filled with joy and relief.

"Nick!" Maya.

"Mr. Wright!" Apollo.

"Daddy!" Trucy got close to him and kissed his head, crying." You're awake, you're awake!"

"I'm so happy to see you Truce…so happy…"

"Wright!" even Edgeworth sounded happy, he noticed Phoenix' brow furrowing a little." Are you in pain Wright?"

"Yeah…a little…"

"I'm going to bring the doctor, just wait for me." Edgeworth left the room quickly, as he closed the door he felt someone touching his shoulder.

"Wait Mr. Edgeworth!"

"Ms. Fey, what's wrong?

"I saw you."

"You saw me? What do you mean?"

"You wiped away tears from your face."

"I…" Edgeworth fell silent, it had no case to deny it." And?"

Maya smiled at him and extended her arms like waiting for a hug, she actually was offering one to him. Showing feelings had always been hard for Miles, everybody says that he always looks grumpy or serious, he almost never hugs other person asides from Trucy, but in this moment he's so overwhelmed by emotion that he couldn't help himself.

"Wright is awake…" he covered his eyes for a second." He will be okay…he…" when he aparted his hand a pair of tears made its way down his face, a little smile giving them meaning. He hugged Maya feeling so glad.

Right then, Larry returned and saw the two together, as soon as he realized that Edgeworth was crying he returned right from where he had come, scared. "What the heck did I lose?" He would come back later; he was again at the wrong time.

Now the things really started to get better.

"So, Polly, what do you prefer?" asked Trucy.

"Hm?"

"Justice, Sahdmadhi, Gramarye or Wright?"

 **December 27, 12:35 pm**

 **Graveyard.**

"Why, of all the places, you called me here Herr Forehead?" Apollo was sat at the front of a tomb, he had just put fresh flowers and the weather was nice, so even if it was a cemetery it didn't felt bad. Apollo made a signal for Klavier to sit next to him." I'm tired of dead people."

"Me too…" answered Apollo sadly, Klavier sat down.

"Clay Terran?"

"Yeah, he was my best friend, it's been two years since he's gone, I still miss him, but I promised to visit him whenever I can."

"And…you talk to him?"

"All the time."

"You…are doing this because…because of Kristoph, right?"

"Not at all, it's just, I wanted to visit him and also talk with you…" Apollo touched the gravestone softly." I'd lost a lot of people, it always hurts the same and it just doesn't matter how many times you have passed through this…but there were a lot of people always by my side even when I felt alone, helping me, just because they cared about me. This time, I want to be the one helping, Prosecutor Gavin…"

"I don't know what to do or how I feel myself, how can you help me then?"

"You can come to Kura'in with me."

"I thought you already had a lot of prosecutors."

"Yes, but I'm short of defense lawyers."

Klavier flinched and looked at Apollo with surprise.

"Me? A defense lawyer?"

"You tend to root for the defense in almost each trial you prosecute, but it was Trucy's idea, actually, I thought you may like a change on your life. Kura'in is a quiet place and is pretty disconnected from this side of the world, you may be able to leave behind whatever troubles you from your past…"

Klavier sighed.

"You knew, Herr Forehead? About the kind of relationship I had with my brother?"

"Honestly, I had only caught glimpses, that trial with the Jurist System was intense, but I didn't know you were suffering that bad…I'm sorry."

"Heh…for someone with abilities like yours you're pretty unaware of things like that sometimes."

"Abilities?"

"As Trucy says..." Klavier put two fingers on his head and made his voice deeper." Perceive"

Apollo blushed and hidden his face with his arms.

"Trucy says that?! Oh my god!" Klavier laughed.

"She does it better."

Apollo's phone rang, he took the phone and after a few phrases he hanged up.

"I had to go, I've to check some things at the hospital." he stood up and looked at Clay's gravestone one last time." You two surely would get along well…."

"He sounds like a good friend."

"He was the best…"

"But, I still don't understand why you called me here."

"Clay was a big fan of the Gavinners." Apollo smiled." I promised him that I will introduce him to you someday…"

"Oh…" Klavier laughed.

"Think about what I told you, if you want to accept just call me."

"Yeah thanks."

"And, Klavier…" Apollo put a hand on his shoulder." I too cared about him, he once was my mentor, the first person to lend me a hand in my career…I will always be glad to him. He had goodness in him, he wasn't always who the world knows. I'm sorry…"

Apollo started to walk away, Klavier lowered his head a little to look at the sunflowers.

"Apollo…" he genuinely froze in his place, Klavier had NEVER called him by his name, he barely called him Mr. Justice at all. Apollo turned at him again, but he kept looking at the flowers." At the beginning I wondered why my brother had chosen somebody as loud and clumsy as you as his protégé, I actually asked him…he told me that you had so much potential, that he couldn't let it go to waste. Over the years I just realized it…you were important to him, more than anyone, he still cared about you if you think about it."

"He warned me not to follow this case, even in the past he never tried to take away my badge even if he had to..."

"He didn't want you involved at all, when you appeared he threw away two of his plans, and he didn't know that the gun had your fingerprints. He acted now that he knew you were away… I think he thought more about you than me."

"I'm…so sorry Prosecutor Gavin.I—"

"Don't apologize." interrupted Klavier." You deserve it Apollo, he was right, you have too much potential…I will turn into someone who he would recognize too… I just need time. "

Klavier wiped a pair of tears and Apollo just felt overwhelmed. He had never seen Klavier as his rival, he was gentle and always was ready to help even if that meant that he would lost the case, he was always ready to find the truth, but just in that moment Apollo finally realized that his rivalry wasn't in the courtrooms…it was in the outside, fighting for the acknowledgement of somebody in common; Kristoph Gavin. Apollo never had problem at all, but he wasn't aware of the competition he was in; Klavier on his own never was truly recognized by his brother, even as a rival, he never confronted him in a trial even if he asked uncountable times…

"I will look forward to it." Apollo extended his arm in Klavier's direction, making an objection-like pose, the Prosecutor saw him and chuckled.

"Of course you will, Herr Forehead."

 **December 27, 12:45 pm**

 **Detention Center.**

"Mr. Wright woke up! We must go to the hospital now Simon!" Athena was very excited, Simon smiled.

"We must finish what we came here to do, then we go."

"Why are we here anyway?"

"Mr. Edgeworth asked me for a favor."

"So you're now his carrier pigeon?

"I'm not such thing!" answered angrily, Athena laughed. They entered the meeting room and found Kay in there.

"Oh, Mr. Blackquill you came!" she fixed her gaze on Taka, who was on Simon's shoulder as usual." Oh, what a cutie! Can I pet him?"

"Taka? I don't think that's a good idea" Simon didn't even finish the phrase when Kay was already touching Taka, the hawk seemed happy.

"I'm more of a crow person but he's cute!

"You're Mr. Edgeworth's assistant?" asked Athena.

"Yep! This guy is a very personal case."

"I thought Mr. Edgeworth had no personal cases until this one." said Simon.

"He's not as cold as he looks, that case wasn't personal at the beginning, but he took it more and more on his own as we investigated it. He helped me, Debeste, Agent Lang…and our culprit who was also a victim."

"Who are you talking about?"

At that moment Gumshoe entered the inmates side of the meeting room, escorting a tired looking Simon Keyes, he sat at his place and looked at them.

"Mr. Keyes…are you alright?" asked Kay, but he didn't answer.

"Mr. Simon Keyes, my name is Simon Blackquill and I'm here in representation of Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. I suppose you know why we're here."

"To make me confess."

"Yes. You killed Mr. Kristoph Gavin in cold blood in front of the entire Court, your verdict is already handed, all we want to know is your motive."

"Why? I did what I did, there's no reason…."

* **KLANG! *** Athena sighed, she thought she would never see these chains and locks again. She didn't know a thing about Keyes so this may as well be impossible, but she couldn't give up so easily.

("Think Athena, what triggered his attack?" she thought.)

 **KRISTOPH'S CONFESSION**

("Okay, but he had no connection to Mr. Wright or Ms. Thalassa, could it be to anyone else? Wait… Ms. Fey's investigation said that he had escaped for someone, Dogen said that it was somebody he cared about, who could this person be?")

"You guided Mr. Edgeworth to where Iris was murdered and said that it was part of something bigger, what were you planning?" asked Simon, suddenly, Athena heard a noise from Keyes' heart so overwhelming that forced her to stop thinking for a second. She had heard that sound before…from Apollo, when he knew that Clay had died…

The one he cared about…

 **IRIS**

("He guided Mr. Edgeworth to her, he wanted to know who had killed her but had no way of knowing…

But he didn't killed Morgan, he waited at the end for the mastermind to reveal.")

 **FOR KRISTOPH. SHE WAS ONLY AN OBSTACLE.**

("He killed him for vengeance…")

"Mr. Keyes…" Athena spoke with a knot on her throat, Keyes looked at her." You killed Mr. Gavin because he was the mastermind."

"Why would I do such a thing? I'm no good man, I can't care less about criminals."

"He gave the orders, he moved all the pieces on the board. Mr. Gavin was more of a poker player, you a chess one, don't you?" Athena looked on the evidence and took a certain piece that had always seemed out of place, he put it on the table and Keyes paled just by looking at it. It was the dog-shaped chess piece Mia had obtained." He killed Iris and you killed him."

Keyes couldn't quit his sight from the piece, but all the chains and locks disappeared. Simon looked at Athena and then sighed.

"Mr. Keyes…I passed 8 years in prison accused of the murder of my mentor, I was nearly executed but I never minded it at all, you know why?" Keyes just looked at him." I did it for someone I cared about, it was what I had to do. I see myself on you and respect your actions…I'm sorry that it had to come to this."

Simon then put on his feet and bowed before Keyes.

"I had never cared about anyone, not even my father or friends. I saw everyone as tools, or…pieces on a chessboard. But her…was different, she was kind and nice to everyone in prison, for once I felt genuinely loved and I too felt glad to her, he showed me that not everyone was a soulless shell…" he closed his fists." When we found out about the attack on Mr. Wright she was so scared, she loved him, I told her to not to try anything, I didn't want to lose her… but she escaped to deliver that letter, I went after her to protect her but that idiot never opened the letter until that day. She went to help him but when we arrived he was at the entrance of his building, being menaced by Engarde, he did signals to his office and then escaped on his bike. Iris and I climbed the stairs and found the other lawyer bleeding out in the couch, being the prison inmates we were we couldn't call for help without giving ourselves out so we carried him without knowing what to do. The noodle guy was close and offered his help immediately, I forced Iris to go with him, she wanted to follow Wright but I didn't let her and went myself. I found his wrecked bike but I lost him…I tried to find Iris then but when I found her she was…she was…" and he broke down in tears." It was my fault, if only I had protected her, if only…"

Keyes couldn't contain himself anymore and cried to his heart's content, Gumshoe then got close to him and offered a hug, which he accepted without saying a thing.

Athena thought that Simon's words were a part of his psychic manipulation to make him talk, but he put a hand on her shoulders in a hug like motion, he had been sincere and true to his honor.

This case had torn apart so many things, but even in the dark, some of them found a way to reunite.

 **December 27, 4:25 pm**

 **Hickfield Clinic**

"God, I would kill for a burger, Maya."

"Once you get out of this place we all will go for burgers! And have the Christmas dinner we skipped, and ramen too!"

"Do you think in any other thing than food?"

"You started!"

Edgeworth smiled just hearing Phoenix and Maya teasing each other again.

"I had the strangest dream ever."

"Really? What did you dream?"

"A defense lawyer with a strange name in a strange place."

"Oh wow, how specific…"

"Hey! Don't sass me. He looked like an anime student boy and had a girl always helping him."

"Like me?"

"Pretty much, even Sherlock Holmes was there!"

"Wright, Holmes wasn't real." argued Miles.

"He was! I'm sure of it!"

"What are they giving you for the pain?"

"You think the drugs are talking for me? I'm as straight as a tree!"

"It's morphine, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is..."

"But it was a dream Mr. Edgeworth, everything can happen!" defended Maya, Miles looked at her serious as ever.

"His name was something like Naruhodo Ryu… Ryu-something…"

"Naruhodou Ryuunosuke?!" asked Edgeworth, but also Maya at the same time.

"Wait, you know him?!" asked Maya first.

"I've heard of him in my investigations overseas, he has some renown."

"I have seen him."

"Wait, what? Maya, explain yourself." Phoenix was surprised.

"As you know, I'm very sensible to spirits and things like that, I can see ghosts sometimes."

"NO WAY, STOP RIGHT THERE MAYA."

"Heh heh! You guessed right Mr. Wright! I saw his ghost!"

"Where?" asked Edgeworth now curious.

"He's often close to Nick, he likes to see your trials."

"Are you telling me that all this time I've been defending with a ghost looking at me all the time?"

"Yep."

"Oh god…"

"Nonsense, ghosts do not exist." Blurted Edgeworth.

"Don't talk like that Mr. Edgeworth, you too have a ghost at your side sometimes."

"W-what?!"

"I haven't talked to him but he looks really alike to you, he wears a long coat and a nice hat."

Edgeworth was pale.

"Where?"

"I've seen him in your office, drinking tea."

"You know who it is, Edgeworth?" asked Phoenix.

"It's…my father."

Both Maya and Phoenix looked at each other.

"He's still looking over you, don't be afraid."

"I couldn't be afraid of him…thank you Ms. Fey."

Then a bunch of people entered at once, trying to be quiet but failing; Gumshoe, Pearls, Kay, Simon, Athena, Apollo, Trucy and Franziska.

"So you're still alive foolish fool…" Phoenix put a scared face, but then Franziska put some flowers on his bedside. "I hope you get well soon."

"Oh, thank you…"

"I brought some sweets for you Mr. Nick! I knew you would come back!" Pearls hugged him softly.

"Pearls? How are you?" worry appeared on Phoenix' face, he remembered. But Pearls smiled sadly.

"Even now, I still love her, she will always be my mother. But I will make sure that psychic powers will never be used for bad things again! I promise!"

Phoenix smiled, she really had grown up to be a mature and good girl, he was so proud of her.

"I too have something for you Mr. Wright." Athena took the magatama from her pocket and handed it to him, he smiled.

"My magatama! Thank you!"

"I didn't know you had such power Mr. Wright, it did help a lot, I would love to give you your badge too but it's still kept as evidence, a pretty decisive one in fact."

"My badge, decisive evidence? I would pay to see that!"

"It may as well be the biggest bluff of all times. But actually…" Apollo took his own badge and gave it to Phoenix, he checked it and looked at Apollo with curiosity." that's your badge."

"Wait, what Apollo? You can't be serious…" said Athena.

"It has my number on it, it is my badge!" confirmed Phoenix.

"You took the evidence?" asked Edgeworth looking at Apollo with a cold gaze.

"No, the evidence badge was mine, I noticed when we presented the badges to the court."

"So you concealed that information to the court."

"Apollo! You hiding evidence? That's not like you at all…now I'm doubting if you are the real one…" Athena really stepped back, but he only closed his eyes and smiled.

"Luckily, you talked first. If I have told that our badges were switched the suspicion would fall again over me, even with Kristoph's testimony we never found a reason for my prints being on the weapon, we would have fallen in a pool of unresolved things and strayed away from the truth forever…"

"That's right, we never knew why your prints were there."

"It was…the gun I had?" Phoenix led his hand to where he had been wounded." I thought you would recognize it."

"I should?" Apollo paled.

"Not really, it was one of Trucy's props."

"What? You let her play with these things? Wright!" Edgeworth sounded mad.

"Absolutely no, some time ago she wanted to practice a trick and I forbid her doing that, you bring the gun to me, Apollo."

"Is that gun? I thought it was just for show!"

"I never intended to use it, I swear, but I also thought it was just a prop daddy…I'm sorry." that last words caught Edgeworth's attention, Trucy lowered her head.

"Oh, Truce…come here." Phoenix reached his hand to her and she hugged him softly." It wasn't your fault honey, never think that even for a second okay?..." but he seemed worried about something, Athena noticed it.

"Hey, let's go for something to eat, we haven't eaten a lot lately, c'mon!" she urged everyone out of the room, even Maya, but Edgeworth stayed in his seat and she whispered to his ear." Talk to him, please, something uneases him." he hasn't noticed it but accepted anyway, Athena smiled and exited the room.

Once alone Edgeworth immediately regret accepting, Athena would have better suited for the issue at hand, dealing with feelings wasn't his field. But now he had no choice but to try.

"Wright, are you okay?"

"Heh, I will be…"

"No, not physically, I mean…" okay, bad beginning." It seems like something is troubling you."

"…" he sighed" I slept while you fought so hard, you suffered a lot."

"Wright, you were in a coma, nobody will ever blame you for that."

"Yeah but…everything was my fault. You wouldn't have been wounded, neither Apollo or Blackquill, if I just…if I…"

"Your line of work makes you a lot of allies, but also enemies, you can't stop that or control what they do. People is unpredictable."

"I can't control other people, but my actions are mine and mine alone. If I had opened the letter sooner nothing of this would have happened. But no, I saw Iris' handwriting and got carried away like a school boy…I wanted to save it and read it in a better moment…" Phoenix held his blankets strongly." When you called me and told me about Matt Engarde's death I panicked, what if she had something actually important to say or she was in danger? I ran to my office and read it, but it was too late…Iris was killed just minutes later and I did nothing, I could have prevented all…"

"You knew about Iris?"

"Kristoph told me just before he…" he touched his clothes again close to his wounds, his eyes were watering." I was waiting for her…I really was, but I had to be so stupid…" he covered his face for a moment." Have you heard about that karma thing? I think it acted now… I didn't want to scare anyone but…since I woke up I…my legs, I can't feel them…"

"What?! Wright, are you serious?"

"I thought I was just numb but no. When Trucy hugged me she hit me without noticing, I didn't felt a thing, just saw…I think…this is what I deserve…"

He cried and Edgeworth froze, not knowing how to react or what tell him. So he was feeling guilty about everything just for his mistake, seeing it coldly he was right, if he had seen the letter he could have asked for help and the plan would fail…

Edgeworth shook his head, it wasn't time to being logical, he had to act, not think. What would anyone else do in that situation?

"Wright…" he took his handkerchief and handed it to him, putting then a hand over his shoulder." You couldn't have stopped it, they were very prepared, there wasn't just one plan to kill you, if you had asked for help they would only have made it faster. I'm truly sorry that it came to this, but... you're still alive. You worry too much about anyone else but you, don't you realize that you are important to everyone too?"

Phoenix looked at him.

"Think about Trucy, Maya, Pearls, or your employees, even me. You know how scared we were that you would never wake up? Even Franziska was worried, now think about Iris, she loved you too and was ready to do everything if that meant saving you. You're here, even if you insist in feeling like trash for a human mistake we don't care about it anymore, you are a good man Wright, you don't deserve any of the things that happened and we'll never leave you. You will need more help than ever now, but I know that I speak for everyone when I say that you have nothing to worry about…you're here and we're so happy for it."

Phoenix dried his tears and smiled.

"Thank you, Edgeworth…"

"I owe you everything I am, it's the least I can do."

"You keep saying it? I thought your debt was paid long ago, I mean, you stood in court for me once, looked for Maya twice, helped me recover my badge, paid the entire trip to Kura'in and back and now this…and still you said you owe me?"

Edgeworth smiled and closed his eyes.

"Nobody else would have done what you did for me so many years ago, I told you already, everything I am now is thanks to you. You changed my entire destiny, Wright, I'll always be grateful."

Phoenix was so happy to have people like Edgeworth by his side, and thanks to his words, he was grateful for the life itself. He wasn't going to lose this chance and make the efforts of everyone go to waste.

The phoenix has reborn again.

 **February 12, 2:30 pm**

 **International Airport**

"So, this is where we say goodbye."

"Don't be dramatic Uncle Edgeworth, you have traveled innumerable times and we still see each other once in a while." said Trucy before hugging him.

"I honestly thought you would retire Mr. Wright, it was a lot for a lifetime." said Blackquill.

"I am retiring, in a way, but I can't leave it at all."

"I'm going to miss you Mr. Wright, I will be all alone." cried Athena.

"I thought Mr. Blackquill was going to be with you."

"He's so quiet that I may as well be alone." Simon looked at her coldly, but she only laughed.

"I'm so happy for you Mr. Nick! You will teach the new generations of defenders!" Pearl looked happy, Phoenix smiled at her.

"So we're both teachers now huh? Isn't that amazing?"

"Yes, it is Mr. Nick!"

"I'm going to miss you pal, now who's going to take the hard cases?" Gumshoe was also there.

"Ms. Cykes is still here, I'm looking forward to it" said Ema.

"Now Mr. Edgeworth will be so sad…make sure you call him frequently, okay?" Kay, Miles crossed his arms.

"Tell Agent Lang and Franziska goodbye, please. I don't know when I will see them again."

"Sure! But please visit us soon, okay? Take care Nick…" Maya hugged him strongly even with him at his wheelchair, he smiled widely.

"You too Maya, please don't pick any trouble while I'm not here."

"Hehe! Me? Trouble? Not anymore!"

"We will take care of her, just in case." Assured Miles.

"Mr. Edgeworth!"

Everybody was laughing, a strange thing in a departure. Apollo arrived with Thalassa at his side, along to a face nobody was expecting.

"Prosecutor Gavin! What a surprise!" yelled Ema, he just laughed.

"Ja? But how can I deny a proposal from Herr Forehead?"

"What, a proposal? Apollo!" yelled Athena, Apollo turned as red as a tomato.

"Prosecutor Gavin! What the heck?! It wasn't—ah…ughh" yelled embarrassed, but then Athena hugged him as a goodbye and he smiled.

"So this is the reason of your resignation letter, Mr. Gavin." said Edgeworth, Klavier put his hands on his pockets.

"Ja, I'm sorry Chief…" but Edgeworth stepped close to him and offered him his hand, Klavier shook it.

"Don't be sorry, follow the path you wish. Good luck." Klavier smiled." Good luck to everyone, I hope the next time we see each other we will hear only good news."

Each one said goodbye to him and everybody in the group. At the end, Edgeworth and Phoenix where in front to each other.

"Thank you for everything Edgeworth."

"Don't mention it, please use your own advice and don't look for trouble, be happy for once Wright." he laughed, but then Edgeworth made his best effort to hug him, it was so unexpected that Phoenix didn't know how to react, but at the end just hugged him to, Miles stood up again and smiled.

"Farewell my friend."

The Wright's, Thalassa, Klavier and Apollo went to take their plane, ready for an all new beginning, seeing all of their loved ones at their side or waving their hands at them, feeling so loved, feeling so free from the chains of the past and old ghosts.

Everybody will know the story of Phoenix Wright.

However, he was but a mere human full of flaws and bad luck, bluffing his way through life. But to anyone who met him, that didn't matter at all, all of them being so important to him as a daughter, friend, employee, client…and him being so important to them as a father, friend, mentor or attorney.

If even one of them was missing, the legend would be incomplete...

The story of the Ace Attorney, the new legend of the Phoenix.


	24. The Longest Night

If you chose "2) Ask for a recess"  
Thinking carefully instead of bluffing, it seems.

Song I recommend to listen for the first part:  
watch?v=U-Af99DOLZg&list=PL6akIKaXBeU0IQmTBSC01rGF9Ak0zmG0Q  
Second part (When the place and time is announced again):  
watch?v=r0PzFUoQH9U&list=PL6akIKaXBeU3jYgKd0SGcxReXvn9qK_de&index=61

2) **Ask for a recess**

 **Final Chapter: The Longest Night.**

 **December 26, 3:20 pm**

 **Courtroom No. 4**

"Your Honor…" said Apollo. "the defense requests a recess…"

They had nothing, the recess wouldn't do a thing but he couldn't stand the pressure anymore. The Judge saw all their faces and pronounced a 30-minute recess.

The lobby was a chaos, they tried so hard to find something, even the most insignificant detail, but nothing.

"What are we going to do? We can't let it all end here but there's no new information…" said Athena, Apollo tried to think on something but then somebody entered the lobby. "Mr. Edgeworth! We're so finished! We have no way to prove anything, we…" Athena saw the hollow eyes of Edgeworth and his face seemed paler. "Mr. Edgeworth, are you okay?"

He tried to take a step but his legs failed him, the people there helped him to stand and put him on a sofa.

"What's wrong Mr. Edgeworth? "now Apollo asked, Edgeworth was trembling badly, he put a hand over his face while he composed himself.

"It's Wright, he…. "Edgeworth almost folded in himself, nobody liked what that could mean. "He's dead... Ms. Fey called me a few moments ago…I-I can't…believe…it. "he was stuttering; he wasn't crying but was still trembling. Everybody in the defense froze like statues, it felt like a bucket of cold water hit them suddenly.

"ARRRGHHH! "screamed Apollo, hitting a wall. Ray put his hat on his chest and sighed, Athena hugged herself and immediately started crying.

"Trucy knows? "asked Athena.

"She was on the Prosecution lobby when I received the call, I didn't tell her anything but she surely knows something is wrong."

"You will tell her?"

"The trial will change its denomination, if I don't she will know from the Prosec— "he was interrupted by Trucy entering the lobby, Edgeworth looked at her.

"What's wrong Mr. Edgeworth? Thena, are you crying? "she said, Edgeworth got close to her and kneeled down to her height.

"Trucy…I'm so sorry…" she was a smart girl; she had known the truth the very instant she saw the look on Edgeworth's face.

"Mr. Edgeworth…" she said, crying. "he's gone, right? M-my dad…he…" Edgeworth hugged her with his only arm, he felt her tears damping his suit and it made his heart hurt so bad, but it wasn't the time for cry yet.

"Prosecutor Edgeworth…" Apollo now was facing him, the fist of his good hand bleeding." Take me to the stand again, please."

"What are you going to do Apollo? "asked Athena, he sighed.

"I think I know what to do."

The bailiff asked everybody to retake places, Miles agreed to Apollo and faced Trucy.

"I need you to be strong just for a little more, we have to find our true culprit yet, can you do it for me? "Trucy dried her tears.

"I'm counting on you Mr. Edgeworth...please…"

He hugged her one last time before hurrying to his place at the prosecution bench. The Judge entered the courtroom with a gloomy face.

"This Court has to change its charges due to lamentable news, now the accused is being indicted of…murder."

The gallery bursted horrorized, but Kristoph only crossed his arms.

"So he finally succumbed to his wounds, huh? "he said, unable to contain his joy. "don't be so sad, he's not suffering anymore."

"You…monster…" growled Blackquill.

"I didn't do a thing; you have nothing against me."

"No, we don't. "said Apollo as he entered the courtroom, ready to take the stand again. "you didn't do it…"

"Mr. Justice, so the defense is accepting my innocence?"

"I'm not the defense, I'm just a witness."

"And what are you going to testify about?"

"…"

The bailiff took Kristoph and let Apollo to take his place.

"Mr. Justice, I thought you had already said what you wanted to said. "the Judge was surprised.

"My memories are foggy and uncertain as Mr. Debeste proved, I can't remember much of what happened that day. But in court, evidence do the speaking, right? "suddenly he looked so sad and tired, done of everything. Athena noticed that he was shaking, wasn't he paler too? "I killed Mr. Wright."

Everyone gasped, even Edgeworth jumped and looked at him with doubt, what the hell was he doing?

"That's impossible Mr. Justice, there's no evidence that points at you. "said Debeste.

"That's where you're wrong, the gun has my fingerprints, right? It isn't the same gun that shot me so they have no other reason to be in there."

"You were hurt; you couldn't move like that."

"The perfect alibi, isn't it? "Debeste jumped, Edgeworth couldn't believe his ears.

"Apollo! What are you doing?!"

"Mr. Justice! Are you seriously implying that you killed Mr. Wright, your own mentor? "even the Judge was unable to believe what was happening right before his eyes. Apollo just looked at the floor, he seemed rushed.

"I have…decisive evidence… Athena, Mr. Wright's badge is in the evidence, right? "he looked at her, she didn't move at all. "check it out, can you tell the Court the number on it?..."

"It's 29003."

"That's not Wright's! His number is 26381…" said Edgeworth.

"But they give us this badge when he was admitted in the hospital, there's no mistake! "Athena didn't understand what was happening.

"Then, where is Mr. Wright's badge? "asked Ray.

"…" Apollo pulled out his attorney's badge and presented it to the court, reading aloud. " 2-6-3-8-1…"

"This can't be real, there's no way!" thought Edgeworth, the gallery was a mess.

"Both our badges fell to the floor during the attack, I got them mixed up, as you can see… there's…no other way…"

"Polly! No! It couldn't be you! Please no…" cried Trucy.

"Herr Forehead, what the heck are you doing?"

"Mr. Justice…stop already with this farce! "yelled Kristoph.

But Apollo didn't say a word, in fact, his head was down even if his arm was still stretched.

"Mr. Justice…" mumbled Edgeworth and then looked at him closely, he was shaking lightly just a minute ago but now he couldn't even maintain the badge in his hand still, a quick movement caught Edgeworth's attention right to Apollo's side, just when he thought it was his imagination a drop of blood fell to the ground from Apollo's vest. It was hard to notice anything due to the lawyer's red clothes and the coat he was wearing, but when Miles looked at the floor he felt chills; a pool of blood was already formed. "Stop the trial!"

Just when Edgeworth started to ran towards him, Apollo dropped the badge, his eyes rolled back and he fell backwards. Everyone got alarmed and hurried to help him. He was unconscious, Miles tried to wake him up to no avail, he then proceeded to open the coat that blocked the vision and discovered that his vest was completely damped with blood, it seemed like he had reopened his wound and was bleeding out right in front of the entire court.

"Call an ambulance, now! "yelled Edgeworth pressing the coat against Apollo's wound.

Everything after that passed so fast, Apollo was taken and the rest forced to stay in a courtroom that had already seen the worst.

They took their place again scared as heck and wanting no other thing than this to end already. Thalassa took the stand.

"So, my verdict stands… Ms. Lamiroir, no, Thalassa Gramarye. I hereby declare you NOT GUILTY. "but this time, nobody cheered, the atmosphere was almost the same one as in a funeral. The Judge himself dried a few tears from his old face. "And I have no remedy but to indict Mr. Apollo Justice for the murder of Mr. Phoenix Wright, he shall be judged and his verdict given…tomorrow…"

"Not so fast! "screamed someone just after entering the courtroom, said man showed his ID." Agent Lang, Security Chief of the Kingdom of Zheng Fa and Interpol Agent. You can't judge this man here."

"What do you mean? "asked the Judge.

"Mr. Apollo Justice possesses extraterritorial rights due to being a citizen of the Kingdom of Kura 'in. He shall be judged there first before anywhere else, he's already arrested and shall face the court as soon as he lands feet on the country. "Lang looked at Edgeworth. "I hope to see you right there."

A trial on Kura 'in.

A trial on Kura 'in! Where the dead talk and their memories are evidence!

When Edgeworth realized it he felt so impressed and suddenly full of pure hope, he couldn't believe it. It was Apollo's plan since the beginning?

"Holy shucks Apollo you're brilliant, BRILLIANT! "Athena put into words Edgeworth's thoughts. But then he realized.

"Wright… his funeral and papers, I have to..." he was interrupted by a whip flashing just in front of him.

"Go, Miles Edgeworth, I'll take care of everything. "said Franziska, Miles nodded and looked at his partners.

"Let's go, now! "just before going out he took the tiny badge from the floor and looked at it sadly, he held it strongly, knowing all the meaning behind it…

 **December 26, 8:00 pm**

 **Honorable Court of the Kingdom of Kura 'in**

The entire trip was very quiet, nobody talked, but it wasn't like anyone actually wanted at all, Maya had joined them in the airport after Franziska insisted her, she and Trucy cuddled each other the entire trip, crying.

"What happens to people when they die?" asked Trucy.

"Their spirits always remain, they frequently look after their loved ones, like my sister."

"You think he's here with us?"

"He will be for sure. You know, he always had a ghost at his side too."

"You mean grandpa Ryu?"

"Yeah, wait, you knew about him?"

"I saw him a couple of times, Daddy always thought that he was my imaginary friend…" and she cried again. Edgeworth just felt his heart ache, he knew what it feels to lose your father…

"We are here in this extraordinary trial to attend a case of utter importance for our Kingdom, the defendant, Apollo Justice, the Son of the Dragon, is accused of the murder of Phoenix Wright. Is the Prosecution ready?"

"Yes, your Magistry. "Nahyuta stood in the bench side by side with Edgeworth, in the other side were Athena and Blackquill.

"The Defense is also ready."

"First of all, I'd like to offer my condolences to all of you, I will personally make sure that Mr. Wright's soul be put to rest. Our Dear Mother watches over his noble soul. "said Nahyuta. "Do you see fitting that we start with the adivination séance?"

"Just one thing, where's the defendant? "asked Blackquill.

"He is being attended right now by our local doctor, he lost a considerable amount of blood. One on the last laws approved by Queen Ga'ran allowed a trial to start without the defendant, but don't worry, he will be here as soon as he can."

"Okay, no objections then. "Athena knew that Apollo was innocent, it was better for him to recover.

"Princess Rayfa, if you would please."

Rayfa looked down when she entered the courtroom.

"I never thought I'd be doing The Dance of Devotion for Barbed Head…he was a good man, I'm so sorry…"

"All that's left is to find the truth, that's what he had wanted. "said Blackquill, Rayfa sighed.

"Let's start then…"

The Dance was certainly beautiful, the people of Kura 'in often go to see the Princess rehearsals just to see the beautiful dance and enjoy the music, but during a trial a totally different context was present; the last memories of the dead, their last moments in this world. For someone seeing those of their loved ones was a brave act, an attempt to face the truth…it was the case of everyone present in that moment.

At last, the waters on the pool moved and started to show images, even the sceptic Edgeworth looked closely.

As usual, the shown images were from Phoenix' point of view, to everyone's surprise he was in a table holding poker cards in his hands, he was feeling a bit of pain and cold, he smelled tea and heard a voice. The man in front of him was Kristoph Gavin who also was playing poker, upon closer observation Phoenix' watch was already broken and he couldn't hold the cards with his left hand. They all believed that their culprit was just in front of them, but then they showed their cards and just when Phoenix realized he had lost he felt a strong pain, but both of Kristoph's hands were still on the table, he smelled blood and looked at his middle where a knife was plugged deep into his side, his sight clouded and he fell forward against the table. He woke up later but his sight never cleared, he moved and then held a gun he was carrying for a moment, it looked like he had put on his feet and charged against someone, then they fought until he heard the shot and pain invaded his being, blacking out again. He opened his eyes a last time to look at Trucy and hand the magatama to Athena, the pain slowly faded away until he closed his eyes one last time, ending his memory.

Nobody knew what to think. That was all? Phoenix died without knowing who was his killer? Edgeworth closed his fists.

"He played poker! What the actual heck? Kristoph didn't hurt him at all? Then who? "yelled Athena.

"That didn't look like my office, a lot of time passed, nothing fits with our theories…" Edgeworth held his head in frustration. Nahyuta read all the report of the case and all the theories they had formed.

"Once we all thought that the Divination Séance had the ultimate word, but thanks to the Fighting Phoenix, The Dragon and his Son we extended our reach and now new techniques are allowed to be used in a trial. If this is all the Séance can show us and the suspect refuses to talk, we still have another option…we can channel him, the dead have the last word here in Kura 'in. "but Nahyuta seemed troubled.

"What's the bad part? You seem unconvinced Prosecutor Sahdmadhi." asked Blackquill.

"Often the souls are very troubled and we have a lot of problems to make them testify, we are perturbing their rest after all, I can feel bad vibes from Mr. Wright's one, he died a violent death and he may not be resting in peace…it's up to you to decide."

Edgeworth thought deeply about it, but it wasn't a decision he could make alone. He asked for a recess in which all the team reunited in the defense lobby.

"Trucy, you´re his closest family, I think it´s up to you to decide what to do now."

Trucy was holding Maya's arm.

"I want to see him again…but if it is as Mr. Polly's Brother says it would be selfish…he only will suffer more, I don´t want it…" she cried, Maya hugged her.

"It's true what he says, however, I too feel that Nick is troubled, if we can bring him again maybe we can soothe his soul…but it may be hard, but if we make it I think he also would be happy, he always pursued the truth more than other thing…"

Edgeworth sighed, pulling up his glasses.

"Ms. Cykes, Prosecutor Blackquill. We may need your help as psychiatrics if we call him, I need you to handle him…"

"I will be happy to help, Mr. Edgeworth, all for the Boss." Confirmed Athena.

"I see no problem…" Simon looked at Trucy. "but, what do you think, phoenix chick?

"… "she stayed quiet for a minute, but then nodded. "help my Daddy, please…"

The decision was told to the Judge and all the preparations were made, Queen Amara would do the channeling, she wore a blue suit very similar to Phoenix' and picked up her hair to made him more comfortable. And so, the ritual began.

The team´s hearts were beating faster in expectation and hope, but as soon as he appeared all of the presents jumped.

"AAGHHHH!" he screamed like waking up from a bad dream, he held his head in his arms and he was breathing very fast, when he opened his eyes he stared at the courtroom." Edgeworth…"

"Wright…calm down, please."

"W-wait…we are, at Kura'in? But I was at…" as soon as he realized he looked at his suit, his hands and touched his slightly spiked hair." No… no no no please! don't tell me that…I'm…dead…no…agh!" he led his hand to where he had been wounded before and doubled over in pain, lowering his head and putting his other arm over the stand.

"Nobody touch him! "ordered Blackquill, Athena was also ready with Widget." phantom pain, he has nothing but his mind is trapped in the moment."

"One of many forms of PTSD, we have to calm him down. "Athena turned on the Mood Matrix, it started running wild with the fear indicator flashing restless, the screen showed images very likely to the ones previously showed on the water, ending with one in which he was being held by Maya just before he closed his eyes. In that last image a tiny drop of happiness was shown.

"Listen Mr. Wright, I know that you´re in pain, but you´re here now, you´re safe…you know this place, right?" Simon was now trying to use his mind tricks for good." I want you to remember the moment just before this…you were on Maya´s arms, the pain slowly fading away, the worst had passed…"

"Ughhh…"

"Even in that moment, you felt happiness for something, was it because Maya was there? "asked Athena.

"Yeah…I felt so cold and she felt…warm…"

"You finally felt close to someone you love, right? She´s here too. "Simon's words seemed to have effect, he was breathing slowly.

"I remember that moment, Trucy and me arrived, you gave me your magatama, can you remember?"

"Trucy…" he said, the indicator of happiness glowing greater, his grip on his side was getting loose. "Kristoph had told me that he would kill her too…but then she was there, by my side…my girl was safe…"

"She still is, you´re not alone, not anymore. "

He started to compose himself, the pain seemed to stop and he could breathe better, when he opened his eyes he was about to cry.

"Truce?" she immediately went running from the gallery to her father´s side, hugging him strongly, both of them were crying quietly, the feeling of being close enough to soothe their hearts. Everybody was smiling and it was shown on the mood matrix, it had finally normalized and now showed the last image now fixed; not only Maya was holding him, now Trucy and Athena were on his side and he was smiling. "I'm so sorry my girl…I swore I've never leave you and now…"

"It isn't your fault Daddy, never think it was even for a second!"

"Wright…it's good to see you again..." Edgeworth smiled.

"Miles, I'm so glad you're here too."

"Mr. Wright!" Apollo had such a good timing.

"Apollo! You're okay! What a relief, I was so worried… what are we all doing here?"

"Polly just did the greatest bluff in history! He accused himself of your attack just to bring the case to Kura'in!"

"Wait, what?!"

Apollo rubbed his hair, embarrassed.

"I'm glad that you caught my drift. "said.

"Actually, Agent Lang was the one who made your extraterritorial rights worth, you did such the turnabout back there." commented Blackquill.

"So, let's clear up Apollo's name, shall we?" Phoenix smiled and took the stand again, he put on a poker face and started to talk, holding Trucy's hand." It all began a week before, I received a letter in my office, the envelope said it was for me; I recognized the writing, it was from Iris, my former girlfriend. But I was stupid and saved the letter for later, when I were less occupied…then the day of the attack Edgeworth called me and told me about the prison break, he asked me to go to his office but I, instead, went to mine because I was worried about the letter, I thought she may need help. I opened the letter and panicked even more, the handwriting of the actual letter was from Kristoph Gavin, so when a masked man entered to my office I thought I was done for. "he put a hand on his head." Apollo arrived suddenly and when he started to fight my assailant I panicked, I didn't know what was I thinking anymore… I had a gun on my desk, I could swear that it was a false one, Trucy had used it as a prop a few months ago…but when I took it to scare the assailant I heard a gunshot and Apollo's scream, right next I pulled the trigger on my own gun and it fired. I wasn't ready for the recoil and it made quite the number on me." he rubbed his hand unconsciously." luckily the assailant ran away and I was left with Apollo, I tried to help him but I discovered that my phone had disappeared, it should have been after the text I send to someone from the Club. So I ran looking for a phone outside of the office and then…Matt Engarde ambushed me, I was so scared. But I didn't want to leave Apollo, then Iris appeared. I made her signals and thank god she got the message and helped you… I had no choice but to ran away so I rode my bike determined to go to the Prosecutors' Offices. I arrived, but not as I planned to…"

While speaking he was looking at the floor, all of his being trembling and holding Trucy like she was his only support. The entire courtroom was paying attention.

"A car hit me from nowhere, I hit my head hard so I just remember certain parts, somebody put me in a car and all, when I fully woke up I was already at the Prosecutors' Offices, but it was…Prosecutor Gavin's office."

"What? Oh, they had Klavier's ID and all…" mumbled Athena.

"Tough, I never expected to see his brother in there. Kristoph Gavin was right there, sitting at the opposite side of where I was, I wasn't tied or anything but when I tried to move the person behind me put a knife on my neck…"

"You saw who it was?"

"Just the reflection on Kristoph's glasses, he was Furio Tigre, dressed just like me…"

"So, the photos we saw of you arriving where forged, you arrived much before." Edgeworth had his teeth clenched, Kristoph had been playing with them the entire time.

"He sent messages from my phone just before my eyes, he called you to the club and Maya to the offices. I was about to pass out by pure fear…but then, he placed a bet." he held Trucy just a little closer. "he told me that he wanted to play poker, if I won he would let me go in peace, but… if he won then he would kill me and all of you… "his eyes were watering and himself started to shake like a newborn deer. "we played as he wanted but I had no way to win, he cheated with an ace… an ace with a drop of blood on it…" Apollo gasped, knowing immediately what did that mean. "Tigre stabbed me from behind as soon as I lost, I couldn't maintain my eyes opened and passed out. But I couldn't just leave him do as he wanted, I used all my forces to wake up again, this time I was at your office, Edgeworth, I charged at Kristoph with gun in hand. I couldn't see at all, couldn't even breathe…but I'm sure that it was him, because…of what he told me…*sob* "You never know when to give up, do you, Wright?" and then he held me and…" he again held where the fatal wound was. Trying to change the mood, Edgeworth showed him his badge.

"You fought till the end, and now we can make justice at last, thank you. Just one thing, you know how Mr. Justice's badge ended up in your lapel?"

"He dropped it at the Agency, I put it on one of my chest pockets. I saw it fall just after…that last part, and I felt someone putting it on my lapel, laughing…I didn't see a thing, so I don't know if it was Tigre or Kristoph…"

He was now at the verge of tears, trembling, Trucy hugged him as well as Maya.

"When I saw you I felt so happy, you were fine, and now that I can see and feel your one last time…I can't ask for more…I'm so glad…"

It was already midnight when this point was reached, once he finished his confession there was nothing left to do. Apollo was innocent, and the true culprit would face punishment now in the Kingdom, Agent Lang passed the news immediately to authorize Kristoph and Tigre's transfer.

Just a thing was left to do.

"It's time, Mr. Wright…" said Nahyuta. "It's time for you to finally rest. Don't cry for those who you left behind, your soul lives into every and each one of them, they will carry your light and share the same Spirit of Justice. You taught them how to be strong and so they will be."

Everyone in the team gave him a hug and cried with him, Edgeworth stayed behind and Rayfa gave him the Magatama of Parting that would separate Phoenix's soul from the spirit medium, he looked at it sadly and held it strong.

"So, this is truly our goodbye, Wright…" he looked as stoic as ever even if he felt completely broken." I will make sure that Trucy is okay, don't worry."

"Miles…" Phoenix hugged him and told him:" thank you for everything…"

"It's me who should do the greetings, a whole life wasn't enough to show you how glad I was to you…thank you, Wright, thank you for appearing in my life…"

When they separated Miles gave the magatama to Trucy.

"Just a minute more, I can't go without watching you learning the truth…" said to his daughter." Apollo, Athena, come here please…"

"Mr. Wright… I'm sorry, I could have done more." lamented Apollo, but Phoenix only smiled to him.

"Apollo, Athena, I couldn't be prouder of you…you surpassed me in every sense of the word, thank you for letting this old man finally do something good in his life…"

"Mr. Wright, don't talk like that, you're awesome…" Athena was crying, the three hugged together.

"Apollo, I want to tell you something."

"What it is, Mr. Wright?"

"Inviting you to the Agency was one of the best decisions I made in my life, I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you...Kristoph, the jury system, the forged…the forged card…" but unexpectedly, Apollo just put his good hand in his shoulder and smiled.

"I now know why you did it, all that is now in the past, Mr. Wright. "it made Phoenix smile.

"You know, I had an extra reason to invite you, one that I was never allowed to tell you…but I can't go without seeing your faces."

"Our…faces?"

"Let's just say that, if you were still underage, legally, I could be your father. "

Apollo blinked a couple of times.

"What?"

"OH MY GOD POLLY!" Trucy caught it immediately, but Apollo had always been a little oblivious to the obvious. She hugged him." You really were my big bro!"

"Wait, Mr. Wright! What the… is that true?! Oh my!" Phoenix laughed.

"You're half siblings, your mother is the same."

"If that's the case I doubt you would be my father then…" Apollo thought, but he hugged Trucy as strong as he could, crying.

"I…I somehow knew it, Truce. Just when I thought that my family couldn't get shorter it instead got bigger... I'm so happy. "

"Daddy! Why didn't you tell us before?"

"Your mother didn't want to, not yet. She is a bit troubled…"

"Wait, she's alive? Who is she?" Apollo was excited, Phoenix just laughed.

"Mr. Justice, I think you can figure that out already." said Edgeworth." In the early trial everyone called you by your last name, except one person."

"Lamiroir?! Whaaaat?"

"Plus, we had also established that she was Trucy's mother, didn't we? I'm afraid that you still lack in some logic…"

"You knew it too Mr. Edgeworth!" yelled Trucy, Athena preferred to keep quiet, it seemed like only the own Trucy and Apollo were the only ones who didn't know.

"Nick…" Maya got close to Phoenix, he had been smiling until he looked at her, then a sad smile appeared and his eyes filled with tears." you don't have to keep smiling you dummy…I will miss you so bad…"the two hugged each other, the sole memory of all these cases and days together was enough to finally draw tears out of Phoenix, he had seen her growing up and turn into the leader she was destined to be, but she was way more for him…his inseparable partner, the one in the team that always was strong and had a smile to share, his confident, his best friend…the living memory of his dear mentor. Once united by loss, now forever bonded by love.

"Thank you for everything, Nick…"

Phoenix couldn't even talk, he just held her close for one last time, he knew that his time was running out, he felt it. Phoenix reached a hand to Trucy and she joined the hug, he let himself cry.

Because the only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over.

"Never forget how much I love you…I'm sorry…"

The red magatama started to glow, he kissed the heads of the girls and closed his eyes, spending the last moments of his life surrounded by those who he loved the most…

At the end, just Queen Amara was left. Phoenix was gone.

"It's good to finally see you again, Feenie. I missed you…" said the voice who received Phoenix to the other side. Was it heaven? Was it the paradise? He didn't care, if she was there, there wasn't a better place to be…


	25. Epilogue 2

**Epilogue: Loose Ends**

 **December 31, 11:48 pm.**

"You called him? He wasn't at his office?" Maya had called Gumshoe and Kay, she couldn't find Edgeworth and was worried.

"Don't worry Ms. Fey, we will find him." promised the detectives before hanging the phone.

"I will look for him in the courtrooms, you go to the police station." said Kay and went out to look, Gumshoe took his coat and his gun just in case. As he traveled to the Police Station he started to think why Mr. Edgeworth just disappeared, he just prayed that this wasn't another "Prosecutor Edgeworth chooses death" …

Gumshoe was the dumbest detective of all times, but also the most loyal one. He may not have Edgeworth's logic, but he knows him so well. After thinking a little and putting on Edgeworth's shoes, he knew where to find him.

He drove to his destiny and ran across the lonely place, he was scared to death but he was sure that he would find him. And he was right.

Edgeworth was standing in front on a tomb with plenty of flowers and things now covered in snow, Wright's tomb. Even if it looked like a cold stone it was far from being just that, it had a lot of things ornamenting it; sunflowers, Larry's drawings, a small bottle to find fingerprints, a plate of plastic spaghetti, a card from De Killer with a draw of his face, Charley in a new pot, a knitted blue hat and lastly, his badge and magatama, glowing weakly.

Edgeworth was wearing a long coat and a hat which looked about to fly from his head due to the strong wind.

"Mr. Edgeworth."

"Detective Gumshoe, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, what are you doing here sir? It's almost midnight, and its almost new year too."

"… "Gumshoe got close and looked at the cold stone." I used to spend this holidays with Wright and his daughter…this is the first without him."

"Where's Trucy?"

"She is staying with her mother and Mr. Justice; I think she will be fine with her."

"Mr. Justice huh? I heard he is recluting Prosecutor Gavin for Kura'in."

"He is, I doubt he accepts."

"His brother was killed too, right? Is it true?"

Edgeworth sighed.

"Just when he was being transferred to Kura'in a shooter ambushed and killed both Furio Tigre and Mr. Gavin… the shooter was killed by the police."

"Who was it?"

"Simon Keyes." Edgeworth pulled up his glasses." he had asked for my help but I never knew his truly intention, it may as well be lost forever."

"Don't blame yourself sir, please." Gumshoe put his usual dog face, but then realized that Edgeworth was more serious than usual." You miss him, right sir?"

Miles didn't answer.

"Mr. Edgeworth, please, don't do that again…"

"What?"

"Bottle all your feelings up until you can't take it anymore, the last time you did it Mr. Wright was very mad… he wouldn't like to see you like that again…"

"Wright…" he retired his glasses and tried to clean them, it was hard because his wounds were still in there and made everything difficult. "Detective, do you have your gun with you?"

"Yes sir."

"Can I take a look at it?"

Gumshoe doubted but he gave it to him anyway, Edgeworth handled it with care.

"You remember that time when Wright invited us all to his daughter's show? You wanted to see the rabbits and went to the backstage."

"Yeah, they were so cute!"

"They distracted you from your duty, it seems."

"What?"

"I heard something during the trial that hasn't left my mind since then…" he held the gun like he wanted to fire it." Wright swore that the gun at his office was a prop, Debeste said that it was old evidence… but it had Mr. Justice fingerprints and they could only have reached it under certain circumstances…"

Then Edgeworth pointed the gun at a tree, Gumshoe panicked and tried to take it out from him, but he pulled the trigger before anything happened. From the gun only color papers and some lights went out, leaving Gumshoe with his mouth open.

"He was Trucy's assistant… you got the guns switched Detective…" he gave the gun back and put his hands on his pockets, looking at the ground.

"Everything… was my fault Mr. Edgeworth… I-I'm sorry! I'm a complete fool! I'm— "

"Silence, detective!." yelled Edgeworth and startled Gumshoe." Your mistake only gave Wright a little more of time, that gun saved his life once…but also took it…all of this was but a cruel joke…"

Edgeworth looked at the grave and put down his glasses again, trembling.

"The fault…is mine. I could have done anything; noticed the gun, or Mr. Gavin's disappearance, or I could have stayed at my office and saved him..." Gumshoe saw at his hands and noticed that tears fell on his trembling glasses." I could have avoided that a child loses her father, a girl loses his guardian… and a friend…" he broke down and dropped his glasses, Gumshoe had never seen Miles crying, never, all he could do was offering a careful hug which he accepted.

"It's not your fault Mr. Edgeworth, he wouldn't blame you of anything…he was glad to you at the end, remember? "

"He did say that…but I…I never really thought how much I will miss him, how much I feel his absence…"

"Let it out, Mr. Edgeworth."

"I just wish I could've changed his destiny as he changed mine…"

But deep in his heart, Edgeworth was determined to stand up and keep living, protecting all that were left behind, because he wouldn't let anyone suffer as much as he was...

Thank you so much for reading the entire work!  
I hope you enjoyed and liked it!  
This almost counts as a book, the entire work it's 163 pages of plain text haha


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